Second Chance ScrewUp
by Love-Lee Light Maiden
Summary: People always say Kenshin(male) looks like a girl and Kaoru(female) acts like a tomboy. When they fall in love, but die before they can reveal their feelings, angels give them a second chance. But this time, Kenshin is Kenna(female) and Kaoru is Kyo(male)
1. All For Love

**--**Disclaimer: Love-Lee Light Maiden does not own any characters from Rurouni Kenshin. All Rurouni Kenshin characters rightfully belong to their creator, Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Second Chance Screw-up 

By, Love-Lee Light Maiden

Written by: Bunny

Edited by: Evlo

**Chapter 1: _All For Love_**

"…" indicates talking

…_italics_… indicates thoughts

--…--- indicates sounds

-o-o-o- indicates change in scenery

_----------------------------------------_

_Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk everything, you risk even more.  
--Erica Jong_

_For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is but preparation. --Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926)_

_----------------------------------------_

"Watch your step Miss Kaoru, you could fall and hurt yourself, that you could," warned Kenshin following in her footsteps.

"I can take care of myself Kenshin! I'm a grown woman! You worry too much," Kaoru complained.

"Yes, you are a grown women now Miss Kaoru, that you are," replied Kenshin.

It was late at night on a Saturday evening and Kenshin and Kaoru were walking along a very rough, rocky forest trail. The rest of the gang was back at the dojo letting their stomachs settle from Kenshin's usual fantastic dinner. Aoshi and Misao had even come by for dinner because they were in town. Kaoru wished that she could be relaxing with them, but Kenshin insisted that she came with him to who knows where, so that he could show her something. Oh how she just wanted to sit down and rest her feet! Why tonight out of all nights! She wondered how Kenshin could trudge around like this while carrying a blanket and with his heavy sakabatou (1) at his waist.

"Mou, Kenshin how much longer until we get to where you're taking me?" voiced a now irritated Kaoru.

"Not much longer Miss Kaoru, not much longer. We're almost there, just hold on," he assured. He had noticed for a while now her dragging feet and an annoyed expression on her beautiful face. Well, at least to him it was beautiful. Nothing could compare.

Kenshin couldn't believe that he was actually doing this. Tonight he was going to reveal to Kaoru his love for her. It had taken him such a long time to work up his nerve to tell her, and now he was finally going to do it. He prayed that she would accept his unworthy self. He didn't deserve her, and tried to deny his love for her several times, but he couldn't any longer. He was going to give Kaoru his heart and hope that she didn't break it in return. Kenshin didn't think he could survive another broken heart. But he would never let what happened to Tomoe happen to Kaoru. He would protect Kaoru with his life if need be. And maybe, just maybe, if he was lucky, someday they could make a happy family together.

_Family…doesn't that sound nice,_ Kenshin thought to himself as he fiddled with a ring in his pocket. He had bought it for Kaoru a while ago and now seemed to be the right time to give it to her. It wasn't an engagement ring. Just a…a… a promise ring. A ring to show that he will always be there to support her and love her. For now and eternity.

A gasp broke Kenshin out of his thoughts and he looked ahead towards Kaoru. She was standing in a grassy clearing near the edge of a small lake. The sky above was cloudless and crystal clear; with a full moon accentuating it's features. They were far enough away from the city so that every star lit up the sky in its own brilliance. There were fireflies popping up here and there and to top off the perfect scenery, the lake was as smooth as glass and reflected the evening sky. To wrap it up nicely, the place was breathtaking.

Kenshin smiled as he saw Kaoru's awed expression. He was glad that he brought her here.

"Kenshin this place is… is…wow…it's…"

"…beautiful," Kenshin finished for her.

"No, it's more than that. It's amazing! Gorgeous! No words can describe it! How did you find this place?" asked Kaoru.

"I had some free time while you were teaching at another dojo. I decided to take a walk and stumbled upon this place. It was in the afternoon though, so it wasn't quite as nice," He answered. "I'm glad that you like it Miss Kaoru, that I am." Then he grabbed Kaoru's hand and led her to the edge of the lake where there was a nice sandy beach. He folded out the blanket he was carrying and gestured for Kaoru to sit on it. "Miss Kaoru why don't we sit down and enjoy the stars."

Kaoru gently sat down on the blanket forgetting her past irritation, and Kenshin followed suit sitting right next to her. They sat in comfortable silence savoring each other's presence, as the stars shined above them.

-o-o-o-

Meanwhile…

"Hey Rooster-Head where's Kenshin and Ugly?" questioned Yahiko as he glared at so-called 'rooster-head.'

"How should I know Brat?! What they do is their business, not mine," Sano tossed over his shoulder. He was sitting outside with his trademark fishbone sticking out of his mouth, wondering how he could sneak away to go spy on Kenshin and Kaoru without being noticed. He wanted to see the look on their faces when Kenshin told her and she (hopefully) accepted him. Sanosuke was Kenshin's best friend, so naturally Kenshin asked Sano if he should tell Kaoru how he felt about her. Sano whole-heartedly agreed. It was obvious to everyone (except to the two in question) that they loved each other and he wondered why Kenshin hadn't done it sooner. Or Kaoru for that matter.

"Oh I bet Sir Ken, being the gentleman he is, swept Kaoru off her feet and took her away to pronounce his everlasting love for her. Ohohohohohohohohohoh!" Megumi jokingly said as familiar fox ears popped up. Sano choked on his bone. How could that fox have known! He hadn't told anyone. Was it that obvious?

"What's wrong Rooster-head? You sound like you choked on a horse," Misao told to a wide-eyed, blue faced, coughing, Sano.

"Shut up Weasel-girl." --Cough cough-- "Nothing's wrong. My food just went down the wrong pipe, geez."

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?!"

"Uh-oh, Sano's in for it now," Yahiko snickered.

"Serves him right, he should know better," said Megumi.

"Poor Sanosuke," interjected Tae while Tsubame just shook her head.

"Run Uncle Sano." "Yeah RUN!!!" cheered a giggling Ayame and Suzume, as they sat next to Dr. Genzai.

All the while a stoic Aoshi just sat there watching the amusing interaction without a hint of emotion. Misao was chasing Sano with her kunai (2), Sano was running from Misao, and everyone else (not including him) was either laughing their heads off, snickering, or just smiling at the scene.

He knew exactly why Sanosuke was choking on his food. Megumi had accidentally guessed what Kenshin was doing. Even though Kenshin was formerly the Battousai, and always hid his emotions from the world with his "rurouni mask," when he was preoccupied he tended to let his emotions 'slip' a little. Even though that wasn't often, the couple times that he did let them slip were just enough to let Aoshi guess what he was planning. Sano's reaction to Megumi's joke was just enough to confirm his suspicions.

_So Himura is going to tell Kaoru…It's about time,_ Aoshi thought as he drowned out the noise and calmly sipped his tea. _Good, he's finally being honest with himself_.

-o-o-o-

_Ah ha ha Battousai, there you are. After all these years I have finally found you,_ a younger man thought, as he hid in the forest surrounding the lake where Kenshin and Kaoru were. _And look at this; you've brought your precious women along with you. Perfect. I, Imuno Kunrei, will make you suffer Battousai. Suffer like I did all those years ago when you killed my father and my eldest brother. I will get my revenge. Payback is hell Battousai, but that is exactly what you deserve._

-o-o-o-

_Hmm, I guess I better do it now before I lose my nerve_! thought Kenshin. He pulled out the ring from his pocket. It was a silver and gold-banded ring with the bands intertwining with each other. _Simple yet elegant, just like Kaoru_.

"Miss Kaoru, I bet you're wondering why I brought you here."

Kaoru looked away from the sky to focus her attention on Kenshin. "Actually Kenshin now that you mention it, I am kind of interested to know why."

Kenshin took a deep breath and looked Kaoru in the eyes, while at the same time grasping her hand. "Miss Kaoru, ever since I met you, you've been a wonderful, kind, and caring person. Not just to me, but to everyone." Kenshin then slipped the ring on her slender middle finger.

--gasp-- "Kenshin, what is this for?" Kaoru asked as she gazed at the sparkling piece of jewelry.

"Kaoru, over the past year, I have protected you and while doing so, have grown to deeply care for you as well. It is selfish of me to say this but… I hope that you feel the same way towards me. I would just like to say Kaoru that…I lov-"

"So, I have finally found you Battousai!" came a cocky voice behind them. Startled, Kenshin whipped his head around and grabbed his sakabatou to face the intruder. Imuno, to add onto his other strengths, was a master of masking his ki. So Kenshin never sensed him coming. The man in question was a man around his early twenties. He had long, jet black hair and penetrating black eyes to match. He was a little taller than Kenshin, but the way he carried himself stated that he was a warrior, and knew the ways of battle. "You don't know how long I have waited for this moment. For years I have trained under the strictest of conditions and taught myself self-discipline, just so that I would be ready for this day. But you are not the cold-blooded killer that I remember from my childhood. It seems that you have grown soft Battousai."

"Who are you?!" demanded Kenshin. It seemed that his past had come to haunt him once again. It always seemed to come back at the worse of times. But who was this young man? The man had stated that he knew him from his childhood. But Kenshin didn't remember any boy in his past. He had eliminated all of the witnesses. He had left none alive at all of his assignments.

"Ha Ha Ha. I see that you do not remember me. But perhaps you may recall my brother and father. The ones that you murdered in cold blood!!! My name is Kunrei. Imuno Kunrei."

"KUNREI!!!"

"Ah, I see that you do remember, bravo."

"You are the son of Jayron Kunrei!

"Yes, I am the youngest child of Jayron Kunrei. I…"

"YOU IDIOT!!! YOU TOTALLY RUINED OUR MOMENT!!! HOW COULD YOU RUIN EVERYTHING!!!" screamed an enraged, scarlet-faced Kaoru. Right when this 'Imuno' character had interrupted Kenshin at, what she was sure of, his proclamation of…something or another, she had been furious. How could he interrupt the only 'romantic' moment they have had in…in…forever! She had been fuming with anger ever since. Luckily, she always brought her trusty bokken (3) with her everywhere she went. At that moment, she had it out and ready for action. She was going to beat some sense into this stupid, stupid, moron of a man.

"And who do you think you are talking to ME that way, you filthy wench!?!" replied Imuno. Who did she think she was? Didn't she see the obvious threat he was? He would have to put this woman back into her rightful place. But, little did he know that this comment only made Kaoru's anger rise.

"PREPARE YOURSELF!!! HAAAA…" Kaoru yelled, bokken high in the air, charging at the man in question. He merely sidestepped her attack and with the handle of his sword, forcefully swatted her aside. He unsheathed his sword and brought it down forcefully, fully intending to slice through the girl's arm.

--Ching--, the clash of metal on metal sounded throughout the chaotic atmosphere.

"You are here to face ME, Imuno. Let's keep it that way," ordered Kenshin. His eyed had now turned from peaceful lavender to fierce, glowing amber. As soon as those words were said, the two samurais got into their beginning stances and started the battle.

-o-o-o-

The dojo had now quieted down from its previous activities. Dr. Genzai, his grandchildren, Tae and Tsubame had all gone back to their respective homes. Now the only ones left where Sano, Megumi, Yahiko, Misao and Aoshi. With much difficulty, the group had managed to settle down Misao from trying to kill Sanosuke. Now the dojo was calm, everyone outside, just looking at the stars. Until…

"So Sagara, what romantic location did Himura take Miss Kamiya to?" asked Aoshi. The two had gone away so suddenly, Aoshi hadn't had the time to track their movements. The question had been irritatingly picking at his mind for hours so he decided to pop the question. He didn't care if Himura's plan would be revealed.

"HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY KNOW!?!" Sano exclaimed. His eyes were as large as saucers and his mouth was hanging all the way to the floor. "I mean it is pretty obvious…but does everybody know?"

"Himura finally got the guts to take Kaoru somewhere!?! It's a miracle!" chirped Misao as she learned the big news.

"Ohohohohoho. So I was right after all Rooster Head. Sir Ken did take her somewhere. You can't keep secrets from me. Ohohohoho," Megumi remarked as familiar fox ears once again decided to pop out.

"Finally! It's about time! But I still can't see what Kenshin sees in an ugly girl like Kaoru. I mean she can't even cook rice right!" Yahiko put in. He didn't want to be left out of the conversation.

Now Sanosuke felt like the biggest idiot ever. He just let the secret out. Ohh, Kaoru was going to get him now. He might as well share all of the juicy details. "Yes, okay, alright. It's true, Kenshin did take Kaoru somewhere, and to top that all off, he was going to tell her that he loves her."

"Awwww," both Megumi and Misao cooed.

"But the question is Sagara, where exactly did he take her?" Aoshi again asked.

"Oh, yeah. He took her to this lake somewhere out in the forest. Real romantic place. The stars, a beach, the lake, no loud noises, the works. It's a little ways from here, but not more than a fifteen-minute walk. If I remember right it's in that direction," Sano pointed out into the night.

--Ching-- Suddenly the group heard the sound of a sword fight coming from the direction that Sano was pointing towards.

"That noise came from the same direction!" Misao pointed out.

"You're right! It did! How much do you want to bet that it has something to do with Kenshin?" said Yahiko.

"Well lets not just stand around, lets go make sure they're all right!" chimed in Sano. After his words kicked in, the group got up and left, dashing towards the sound of the ringing steel.

-o-o-o-

The two opponents were merely blurs of red and black as they attacked each other ruthlessly, with on slots of blows. Kaoru, now calmed down, could only watch helplessly with her sapphire blue eyes as the battle raged on.

_When will Kenshin's past stop haunting him? Why can't he just live a peaceful life like any other man?_ Kaoru thought as she tried her hardest to see what was going on in the battle. She couldn't focus on either of the men even though she herself was a swordswomen. _This one's different_, she observed. _Usually no one stands a chance against Kenshin and his Hiten Mitsurugi sword style. This opponent has Kenshin fighting with everything he's got. He must be extremely good._

Just as she finished her thought there was a large crash and wood splinters were flying through the air. One of the fighters had been brutally flung through one of the nearby trees, leaving a gaping hole in the forest. If only she could see who it was.

As the dust cleared Kaoru stared in horror at what she saw before her. Kenshin was the fighter who had been catapulted into the tree. He was now lying in a heap, clothes torn, body bloody and battered. All the while his opponent was in mostly the same condition; breathing hard and using his sword for support.

Tossing out all other thoughts Kaoru ran to Kenshin, praying to Kami (4) that he would still be alive. When she got to him she gasped and immediately kneeled next to him. His ponytail had broken, throwing his long red tendrils everywhere. The only remains of his magenta gi were a few strips of cloth, now hanging on his badly torn, once white, hakama. His exposed golden-tan skin had a great deal of wounds, ranging from mere scratches to deep gauges, all of them bleeding profusely. But what bothered Kaoru the most was his shallow breathing. The only other time she had seen him in this bad of state was after the battle with Shishio Makato.

"Kenshin! Kenshin!!! Speak to me Kenshin! Are you all right?!" Kaoru exclaimed as tears welled up in her eyes. "Kenshin?" she whispered, softer this time.

Kenshin slowly lifted up a weary eyelid as his lavender eyes took in his surroundings: Kaoru was next to him on the verge of tears, her ebony locks and creamy white skin made her look like and angel. To him, she would always be his angel.

_Kenshin don't get distracted!_ He scolded himself. _Imuno is still out there and he won't stop until I'm dead or I defeat him._ Finding his voice, Kenshin decided to voice his thoughts.

"Kaoru you shouldn't be here, --cough--," he warned in a raspy voice. "He's still out there --huff huff-- this isn't over yet --huff huff-- you could get injured."

"But Kenshin look at yo-" Kaoru started to say before she was cut off by a battle cry.

"BATTOUSAI!!! YOU WILL PAY DEARLY FOR YOUR DEEDS!!!" yelled Imuno as he thrust his katana straight for Kaoru. Before she could register what was happening, Kenshin shot his left arm out to protect her. Instead of the attack piercing Kaoru's chest, it went straight through Kenshin's arm.

"Leave her out of this Imuno!!!" warned Kenshin in an icy tone, accompanied by a deadly glare.

"Fine! Then let us finish this once and for all!" retorted Imuno as he withdrew his sword from Kenshin's arm and got into his final stance. Kenshin followed suit, getting into his own ultimate attack stance.

All Kaoru could do was watch, still shocked by the earlier turn of events. When she finally came to her senses a moment later, and was about to tell Kenshin to stop, both men vanished. Immediately, the clashing of the steel swords was heard, and the shouts of ultimate techniques were shouted.

"Amakakeryu no Hirameki (5)"

"Shurajou Amatsu (6)"

In an instant, the fight was over. Imuno lay unconscious on the ground with a large indentation across his chest. Kenshin was a few yards away, still in his follow-through position.

A stunned silence smothered the area. A chilly wind blew, announcing the beginning of spring and the end of winter. Kenshin looked up at the sky, the tip of his sword dragging on the ground. He took a deep breath of the fresh, crisp air. Then, as if all the life had been sucked out of him, he collapsed onto the ground.

"Kenshin!" screamed Kaoru, as she ran over to the injured man. She kneeled next to him and cradled him in her arms. "Say something! Anything! Please Kenshin! Please tell me you're not dead!" she choked out, as tears spilled over her long lashes. She held him even tighter as her body shook with sobs.

Something wet and cold landed on his face. It felt so nice against his hot skin. But soon, the rest of his senses kicked in, and he realized that it wasn't as good as he first thought. He could now hear Kaoru's sobs and feel her arms wrapped around him. He strained to open his eyes; they felt like bricks of lead. Slowly but surely he managed to open them, only to see Kaoru's red, tear streaked face. It pained him to see her this way. He would do anything to see her smile right now.

"Kaoru," he strained to say, "Miss Kaoru --cough-- I'm glad you're okay." Lifting her head up, Kaoru looked at his face.

Her own face shone with a bright smile seeing that Kenshin was alive. "Kenshin…you…you really are alive! Oh, I'm so glad!!!" she exclaimed, as more tears, this time tears of joy, streamed down her cheeks.

"Miss Kaoru," he began again as he lightly caressed her face, "I don't know what I would have done if you were hurt. You are so precious to me." A small smile broke out on his face. "Miss Kaoru…uh…--sigh-- Kaoru…I need to say this now, because I don't think I have much time left…"

"KENSHIN DON'T SAY THAT!!!" Kaoru reprimanded him, her whole body trembling.

"Kaoru, you know as well as I do that I am very badly injured, and even now, I can feel myself loosing grip with reality."

"Kenshin, please, please don't say that, please," she begged.

"Shhh…Miss Kaoru, sshhh, listen to me" Kenshin hushed, "Before Imuno came, I was telling you something." Kenshin had a loving sincere look in his eyes that made Kaoru's heart skip a beat.

_He really doesn't have much time,_ she thought. _His voice and eyes are fading with every word he says._

"Kaoru, like I said before, you are a wonderful, kind, and caring person, and while I have realized that, I have also truly, --gasp-- madly, --gasp-- and completely --gasp—fallen… --gasp-- in…lo…" As his voice faded away into the night sky, his hand fell limp and cold in Kaoru's grasp.

"Kenshin? Go on Kenshin. Kenshin?" she said in desperation. "Oh Kami…Kenshin? No! Please don't leave me Kenshin! KENSHIN!!!" Kaoru screamed out as realization struck her. He was gone. There was no going back. She would never see him again. Never hear his handsome voice, feel his calloused hands, smell his sandalwood scent, and she would never, get the opportunity to taste his lips on hers. And…she would never…never…get to tell him that…that…she loved him.

**End of Chapter 1: _All For Love_**

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1. Reversed-blade sword

2. Throwing knives

3. A wooden practice sword

4. Kami means God. So _praying to Kami_ would mean_ praying to God_

5. This is Kenshin's ultimate technique and in English this translates as _the Dragon's claws from which one can't escape_

6. This is Imuno's ultimate technique and in English I THINK this translates as _heavenly carnage_ but if it does not, feel free to tell me, I would appreciate it, thank you

_PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!! THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY!!! It's only the beginning --evil laughter-- Mwahh ha ha ha. -- cough-- Sorry about that I, uh, kind of got into the moment, that's all. Don't worry; Kenshin is not gone for good. What kind of author would I be if I just let him drop off the face of the earth (or out of the story for that matter)? I hope that this is a good first chapter. This is my very first FanFiction and I have worked very hard on it! I really, really hope that you all liked it. Did you? Well please review. Even if it's just a "Good job" or "It needs improvement" I would appreciate it. Oh yeah, if you have any advice or corrections you can e-mail me too. Also, just to let you know, I might not be able to update as soon as you might like because of school (EVIL). But, I will work hard on my story and will try not to make you wait too terribly long. Well anyway…once again, I hope that you liked Chapter One of Second Chance Screw-up, until next time…_


	2. To Be, or Not to BeThat is the Question

**--**Disclaimer: Love-Lee Light Maiden does not own any characters from Rurouni Kenshin. All Rurouni Kenshin characters rightfully belong to their creator, Nobuhiro Watsuki.

**Second Chance Screw-up**

By, Love-Lee Light Maiden

Written by: Bunny  
Edited by: Evlo

**Chapter 2: _To Be, or Not to Be…That is the Question_**

"…" indicates talking  
…_italics_… indicates thoughts  
--…--- indicates sounds  
-o-o-o- indicates change in scenery

--I dedicate this chapter to all of my WONDERFUL reviewers! THANK YOU SO MUCH! You all make me so happy!

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_Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.  
--Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892) In Memoriam, 1850, line 27, stanza 4_

_A woman can forgive a man for the harm he does her…but she can never forgive him for the sacrifices he makes on her account. -- W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965), The Moon and Sixpence_

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_**From the last Chapter:**_

"Kenshin? Go on Kenshin. Kenshin?" she said in desperation. "Oh Kami…Kenshin? No! Please don't leave me Kenshin! KENSHIN!" Kaoru screamed out as realization struck her. (1) He was gone. There was no going back. She would never see him again. Never hear his handsome voice, feel his calloused hands, smell his sandalwood scent, and she would never, get the opportunity to taste his lips on hers. And…she would never…never…get to tell him that…that…she loved him.

_----------------------------------------_

Imuno stood motionless, with a wicked grin on his face, as he watched the delicious scene unfold. He had just witnessed the death of Battousai The Manslayer. He was amazed with himself. He had managed to kill the Battousai, while at the same time, managing to also stay alive. He had to admit though, that last blow nearly killed him. The only thing that kept him alive…was luck.

Maybe his father and brother were looking out for him. He could clearly remember what the Battousai had done that dark, dreary night. He took away his only family, and his soul along with them…

-o-o-o- Flashback –o-o-o-

The rain was pouring outside, making it sound like there were drummers tapping on their house. An eight-year-old Imuno sat on the porch, looking out into the storm. It had been raining for days now, and he was bored out of his mind. --sigh-- _I hate the rain, _he thought.

Imuno's older brother came walking up to his little brother. "Hey little man!" he greeted, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing, Jeroo," Imuno lamely supplied. They both sat in silence for a while, just looking into the rain swept city. "Hey Jeroo, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure. What is it?" his brother replied.

"What do Father and you DO? I know you work for the government but…what is your job?" Imuno questioned, looking up at his brother. His brother looked back at him, took a deep breath and sat down next to him.

"Well, Dad and I work for an organization call the Shinsengumi. We protect everyone from the evil Imperialists. The Imperialists are going against the Shogun and we are trying to stop them. We're trying to keep everyone safe from their madness," Jeroo calmly explained.

"WOW! Really! I didn't know you and Father were so cool!" Imuno said in awe.

"Thanks squirt," Jeroo said, patting Imuno's head. "But I think it's time for you to turn in for the night, it's late," he commented, look at his brother.

"I don't have to listen to you!" Imuno said defiantly, "You're not Mom!"

"Well since she's dead, we boys have to look out for each other," Jeroo returned.

--sigh-- "Okay…" Imuno gave in, glumly. "I have nothing better to do anyway…Good night."

"G'night," Jeroo called back, watching his brother go into his room. A dark figure of a man rounded the corner and walked towards Jeroo.

"Is he asleep?" the deep voice of the man asked.

"He should be in a bit, Father," Jeroo answered.

"Good, our shift to patrol this area is in an hour. Be ready," Imuno and Jeroo's father ordered.

"I will be Father,"

-o-o-o-

Imuno shot up out of bed, startled. He had heard the voices of his dad and brother yelling, and the low voice of a person he did not know. Then clashes of metal, and silence.

He got up quickly and sprinted around the house to where he had heard the noises. Slowing down, he stayed in the shadows and just barely looked around the corner of his house. He had to stop himself from running out into the muddy street. There lay his dad and brother, his family, motionless with slit throats.

In the corner of Imuno's eyes, he saw a short, red-haired man with a sword at his waist, walking away from the scene. The man looked over his shoulder briefly and Imuno caught a glimpse of deadly, burning, amber eyes. There was no doubt about it. That man KILLED his family.

Once Imuno could not see the man anymore, he fell to the ground in pain. Slowly, he crawled over to his father and brother's sides. _This…this…isn't happening. It can't be,_ he thought in denial. "Papa wake up! Jeroo, stop joking around, please…" he pleaded to them, only to find that they didn't respond. Tenderly, he reached out to his brother's face. It held none of the warmth and color it previously had. It was now blue and as cold as stone; his father was in the same state. The hand that had touched their freezing skin started to shake uncontrollably. _They're gone, _he realized, _I'll never be able to see them again! But…who will take care of me? I'm all alone! _By now, the shake in his hand had moved up, spreading through the rest of his body. His wide eyes seemed to see everything, yet nothing at the same time as they filled with tears. All of his pent-up emotions now crashed down on top of him, resulting in rushing rivers of tears. He bent over and curled himself into a ball, crying into the night sky, letting it all rush out of him.

-o-o-o-

Imuno still sat in the same place as before. His eyes glassy and red-rimmed; skin clammy and cold. His tears had stopped for a while now, but the immense sadness was evident in his face. Memories flashed in Imuno's mind, memories of the happy life he once had. Emotionless, he peered into the cold twilight air, feeling empty and lost. But the more he thought about why he felt that way, sorrow soon gave way to rage. Why did HE have to suffer! Why HIM, out of a million children that it could have happened to! He knew exactly why: because of that killer. He fisted his hands and looked fiercely into the direction the unknown murder had gone hours ago. _YOU DID THIS TO ME STRANGER! YOU DID THIS TO MY FAMILY!_ he thought with vengeance,_ I will get you! Mark my words; the name of the Kunrei will forever be sliced into your heart!_ He thought darkly. In that moment and time, the once-innocent boy, turned into a determined demon, devoured by revenge. As time passed he gained information and his heart turned black and full of hatred. Only one though filled his head: _I can never live in peace, with HIM still living._

-o-o-o- End of flashback –o-o-o-

But the past was the past: over and done with. Now there was only one last thing he had to do, before he could truly live in peace. And that was to eliminate all of the witnesses. Luckily, the only one that was there was Battousai's women. What was her name…Kaoru? _This should be an easy task_ thought Imuno. _She is a weakling female, with nothing but a wooden practice sword to defend herself with._ With silent movements he started slithering over to where she kneeled, crumpled and broken, next to her lost lover.

But before he could get there, he heard a rustling in the forest, not too far off. For fear of getting caught in his condition, Imuno ran with his last ounces of strength, toward his quaint home village. The last thought that passed through is mind was: _I will get you woman. No matter how long it takes, I will not fail._

-o-o-o-

Meanwhile…

Sanosuke, Aoshi, Misao, Megumi and Yahiko were still scrambling through the brush and the darkness of the forest, in search of their friends. Earlier, with Sano's terrible sense of direction, they had gotten lost. After realizing this, Aoshi had taken the lead, looking for footprints and such to lead them the right way. He didn't succeed in finding footprints, but be did pick up traces of Kenshin's ki and followed that instead. They had been following that for some time now and Aoshi had also picked up Kaoru's ki and another fighter's. But, he couldn't feel Kenshin's anymore. He hoped that they weren't too late.

"Nice Job Rooster Head! You led us in the totally opposite direction! They're probably dead by now!" scolded Misao. She was very worried for her friends and hoped that she was just worrying for no reason. "It's a good thing that Aoshi-sama came with us, or we would have never gotten there!"

"Hey! Quiet Weasel Girl! I already said I'm sorry!" Sano said, exasperated. He already felt like an idiot, did she really have to rub it in his face?

"Hey you two! More walking and less talking, NOW! Or I'll have to strangle both of you. --sigh-- You both are acting so immature." Megumi said, frustrated at the both of them. They had been going on like this for five-minutes straight. Couldn't they just shut-up? As if Megumi's wishes had been heard, the duo picked up the pace keeping quiet. _Wow, maybe I should do that more often!_ thought a surprised Megumi. Then a sly grin was plastered on her face as she thought of the marvelous things she could do with that kind of control.

"All of you stay quiet. We're getting closer," Aoshi ordered. His face was as emotional as a stone wall. All of them did as they were told and walked out of the brush, only making slight sounds in the bushes as they did so. Aoshi felt the unknown ki he sensed fade away into the deep parts of the forest. There was no way he could go and catch the mysterious fighter now. He looked at the scenery they had just stumbled upon. This was a truly breathtaking place; Himura was right to have taken Kaoru here. But upon further inspection, all was not well. The ground was broken up and scared, a tree looked to have been recently broken down, and he couldn't see Himura or Kamiya anywhere nearby.

"Lets all split up," offered Misao. "If we do that, maybe we can find them faster. They shouldn't be too far away. I'll go with Aoshi and the rest of you can form a team."

"Fine, the quicker we find them, the better," agreed Sano. The two groups then split up, Misao's group going to the left side of the lake, and Sano's group going on the right side of the lake.

After a while of searching both groups were getting even more worried. They still hadn't found either Kaoru or Kenshin. Things were looking bad. The further they went, the more skid marks and blood splotches they found. It was now painfully obvious that a vicious battle had taken place.

But it wasn't too big of a lake, so they have to be getting closer. What worried them the most though, was that they couldn't hear any voices. Not Kenshin's, not Kaoru's, nobody's.

"Aoshi, you…you don't think they're…" Misao couldn't bring herself to say it. Could they be seriously hurt, or worse…dead? Himura was the best fighter she knew, but there is always the off chance that something could happen, something horrible. Misao wasn't the type to worry much. She was almost always bouncing off the walls or ecstatic about something. Worrying wasn't something that she was used to, and she felt very uncomfortable. But, being with Aoshi made her feel a bit better. Just seeing him made her perk up from anything. Now if only he could smile…

"No Misao, I'm sure they're fine," was Aoshi's monotonous reply. Even though he knew just the opposite, he kept his real thoughts to himself. He could see and feel Misao's anxiety and worry, and thought it better not to tell her. But it was clear to him that Kenshin and Kaoru had been dragged into something, and the results would not be pretty.

_What was that!_ He thought. He had just picked up traces of someone's ki. It wasn't much to go on, but it was enough. "Misao follow me," he instructed. He started jogging towards were he could sense the ki, Misao right behind him. But even though both of them were trained warriors and had seen many hardships in their days, nothing could have prepared them for what they saw.

They stopped dead in their tracks. Kaoru looked to have added thirty years to her age. She was pale, red-eyed, and fervently shaking. Her kimono was dirtied and worse for wear. Tears were running down her blood-splotched face leaving clear, wet trails behind them. Kaoru didn't even seem to notice them, too wrapped up in her own thoughts and agony. There was something in her arms. The two couldn't tell what it was, they were too far away and Kaoru was covering most of it. The ground was bathed in blood and had deep gouges where it was evident that a sword fight had taken place.

After her initial shock, Misao ran over to her friend wanting to know what happened, and to try to comfort her.

"Kaoru, Kaoru! Are you okay? You look terrible! Tell me what happened! And where's Him…ur…a…" Misao's seemed to have lost her voice. She now saw what Kaoru had been resting in her arms. Kenshin's limp and pale form lay in her protective arms. He was battered and bloodied, and there was no life in his once-lively lavender eyes. Misao collapsed onto her knees. _No, NO! This can't be_ she thought. _Himura can't be dead! He…He just CAN'T!_ Tears of her own now blossomed in her expressive green eyes.

Unnoticed by either of the girls, Aoshi had quietly joined them. And for one of the first times in his life, his eyes widened in shock. _Himura, dead? No…I won't let this happen!_ He thought furiously. "Megumi!" he called out across to the other side of the lake. "Sano! Megumi! Yahiko! Get over here NOW! QUICKLY!"

Hearing the urgency in Aoshi's normally stoic voice, the trio sprinted around the lake to where Aoshi and Misao were waiting for them. When they rounded the corner of the lake they didn't have time for a reaction. Megumi immediately saw that she was needed and got to work with all of the materials that she had hastily grabbed before leaving the dojo. Yahiko stood rigid and still. His eyes where wide open, as they absorbed all of what had taken place. Sano, being the slower thinking of the males stopped for a short breather before asking, "What happened Aoshi? You sounded really…upset."

"Open your eyes you idiot," solemnly shot back Aoshi. "Isn't it obvious? I would think that even **you** would understand what has happened." Aoshi then turned his gaze to Misao as she tried to calm a hysterical Kaoru.

Taking Aoshi's words to heart, Sano actually looked at all of the commotion. A frantically working Megumi, a deathly still Kenshin, the sobbing Kaoru in Misao's arms and the silent Yahiko. Understanding hit him like a one hundred pound brick. How could he have been blind to all of **this**? This is why the group had rushed here in the first place. Sano's face had now turned a pasty shade of white.

An unexpected sob from Megumi gathered everyone's attention to the now not-so-frantically-working doctor. She brought her shaky hands to her face as another cry escaped her capped lips. A tear slowly trickled down her cheek.

"Wha…What is it Megumi? What's wrong?" Sanosuke asked, afraid that he already knew the answer. A second of unearthly silence passed before Megumi could compose herself enough to talk. She wanted so badly to reject her own closure. But the evidence told a story that was too truthful not to accept.

"I…I…I can't save him. He's gone," she croaked out. Those were the hardest six words that she ever had to say. She herself could barely believe that she was uttering these words about one of her dearest friends.

"NO! NO! YOU'RE LYING! KENSHIN CAN'T BE DEAD! HE'S KENSHIN! HE JUST CAN'T!" Yahiko burst out. He ran next to Megumi and launched himself onto Kenshin. "KENSHIN! KENSHIN GET UP! KENSHIN PLEASE! GET UP NOW!" he pleaded while shaking the unresponsive body of his hero.

"Yahiko stop it! That won't help! There's nothing we can do! He's gone now! GONE! Do you understand me Yahiko! YAHIKO!" Megumi scolded while fighting back a fresh river of tears. She tried to pry the young samurai off of the redhead, but to no avail. He was too stubborn to let go.

"NO! No! Kenshin! Kenshin…please get up…Kenshin," Yahiko said as a last attempt. His anger slowly dying away into grief. He unclenched his fingers from the dead man's gi and leaned back to take a look at his friend, no, more like father. Kenshin had always been there for him and he was the one who saved him from that gang who had enslaved him. But now…now he would never be there. Never be there to give advice to him, never be there for him to look up to, nothing. Suddenly Yahiko wrapped his arms around Kenshin and cried for all he was worth. Letting all his emotions flow out, uncontrolled and untamed.

Everyone followed suit. Tears blossomed in their eyes and sorrow swept over them like a winter breeze. Everyone except Aoshi of course. He stood there silently, reflecting over the life of an honorable man.

-o-o-o-

One week later, the funeral bells clanged over the saddened crowd. Silence fell as the remains of someone they would never forget were buried, never to be disturbed again. These were the remains of a man of many names. Some called him Battousai, the one that brought the Meiji Era with rivers of blood flowing off his sword; others Kenshin Himura, the peace-loving wanderer that would do anything to save an innocent soul; and once upon a time he was once called Shinta, the 'boy with heart.' But, no matter what name they called him by, his memory would always be a part of the land, the people, their memories, of recorded history, and time.

Kaoru, even through all of her misery, had tried to make this a perfect ceremony, for a perfect man. It was what Kenshin deserved after his troubling life. She made sure that Kenshin got buried in the same cemetery as Tomoe, in Kyoto. _That is what he would have wanted,_ she sadly thought. _Now he can truly be at peace…without me. Tomoe was his first love, this is where he belongs. Not with me, in a lot next to my parents that he never knew. Why, OH WHY, did he have to leave me? Why did he do this to me? Why did he sacrifice his life for mine? Why didn't he take me with him…?_ Fresh tears welled up from the deep depths of her dark, cerulean blue eyes. An onslaught of memories overcame her, and she had no strength to stop them. If there was anytime to cry, this was it. Everybody else was crying, nobody would even take notice of her tears. At least she wouldn't be crying alone.

-o-o-o-

Silence seeped through every nook and cranny of the dojo. It had been a week since the burial, but Kaoru seemed to be stuck in the past. Trapped in a mind paralysis that she wrapped herself in. Minutes mingled into hours, hours blurred into days, and days blended into a week. Time seemed to stand still and Kaoru was unmotivated to make it start ticking again, let alone do anything else.

Yahiko looked at his teacher and shook his head. He had tried almost everything to get her back to her once-spunky self. He had worked extra hard when practicing the Kamiya-Kasshin Sword style, he had not called her 'Ugly' for four days, and when that didn't work he called her 'Ugly' even more than usual. Then, after all of those failed attempts, he did something he guaranteed would get her attention…he told Kaoru that he LOVED her cooking. Even though everyone known to man knows to stay as far away as possible from her pitiful excuse for food. After he said that, he was absolutely STUNNED that she gave no reaction to his comment. Once that had been unsuccessful, he had given up entirely.

--sigh-- _Now if only there were someone who could snap some sense into Kaoru,_ Yahiko thought. Not a second later the loud crack of the shoji door being forcefully opened broke Yahiko out of his dreary thoughts. He didn't have to wait long to know who had entered the dojo.

"OI, BRAT!" Yep, there was no mistaking it. That brawly voice with the street slang could only belong to one person…

"SANOSUKE SAGARA! That is no way to enter the dojo! Really, you should learn some manners!" and Megumi must have accompanied him.

"Well sooorry! But we're here for Missy, and I want her back to her loud-mouthed, tomboyish, fiery self as soon as possible! So go work your magic Fox, while I go take the Brat to the market!" Sano irritably shot back as he snatched Yahiko up and threw him over his shoulder. Stopping to look back at Megumi Sano added with a softer, sincere tone, "Please help her Megumi. I have faith in you…you can cure anything."

With that he stomped out the door with Yahiko complaining in his ear, yelling something to the affect of, "YOU ROSTER HEAD! DON'T CALL ME A BRAT! Grrrr, PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!" Once the dojo gate closed behind them, the vicinity became muted. Even the birds in the trees seemed to hush for the moment.

Taking a deep breath, Megumi took a step towards the hallway deciding to start searching for the anguished Kendo instructor. Taking slow, easy strides, she strode into the training area and luckily found her prey on the first try.

Kaoru truly looked disheveled. She was sitting on the floor paler than pale; had horribly blood-shot, swollen eyes; and a messy, untouched rat's nest on her head that was a pitiful excuse for hair. She really needed to do something about this…and quickly.

Megumi glided right over to Kaoru and towered over her with confidence. "What in the world do you think you're doing Raccoon Girl!" she demanded, using her playful nickname for Kaoru hoping that it would spark some life into her. "How on earth could you let yourself go like this! I mean, I always knew that you were a tomboy but this…" she told her, indicating her messy appearance.

"Leave me alone Megumi," Kaoru responded in an unusually monotonous voice.

_Ha, I got through to her! Now to take it to the next level…_Megumi slyly thought, her plans sorting throughout her mind. "Not a chance Kaoru. You have absolutely let yourself go, and you and me are going to put a stop to it," Megumi stated firmly. "I just feel sorry for Sir Ken, he's probably rolling in his grave right now seeing you like this."

"NO HE ISN'T! DON'T SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" Kaoru screamed back. Fresh, hot tears now left trails down her cheeks. Apparently Megumi had struck a nerve…and hard.

--slap-- Megumi smacked Kaoru across the face and looked at her straight in the eyes.

"Of course he is! Look at yourself! Is this…this…lifeless, emotionless person who he sacrificed himself to save! I think not! He wanted to save a spunky, optimistic, nurturing girl that he cared for. That he believed could make a difference in the world! Not a motionless, sad-looking girl who's too wrapped up in herself to notice or do anything!"

"SHUT UP MEGUMI!"

"Why when it's all true! The truth hurts Kaoru, but you have to let it go! MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE! Don't make Kenshin's death be in vain. He died wanting you to be happy, and to live the life he never had! He wanted you to LIVE. Not rot away and kill yourself! AM I GETTING THROUGH TO YOU AT ALL, RACCOON GIRL!"

Kaoru just looked up at her, wide-eyed and motionless, letting Megumi's last outburst sink into her system. Comprehension of Megumi's words finally dug its way into Kaoru's mind, and heart. _She's right…what have I been doing this whole time?_ She asked herself.

"I…I'm sorry Megumi," Kaoru choked out. "I…I don't know what I was thinking. I was just so sad and…and…I'M SO SORRY!" Kaoru finally broke down, letting all of her emotions flood out through her tears. Megumi instantaneously knelt down by the weeping girl and wrapped her arms around her.

"There, there Kaoru. It's okay. It's been hard for all of us," lulled Megumi, trying to comfort her friend.

"I know, but I was being selfish --sniff sniff-- and you're right about everything. But, it's just so hard to get over it. I…I love him!

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, he'll never be truly gone." Megumi said softly. Kaoru looked up.

"What do you mean?"

"He'll always be in your heart Kaoru. Wherever you are, no matter what, as long as you remember him, he will always be with you." Megumi gave a small reassuring smile and Kaoru couldn't help but smile back at the older woman.

Finally Kaoru's tears subsided and she pulled away from the doctor's embrace.

"Thank you Megumi…for everything," Kaoru said, wiping the last remaining tears from her eyes.

"Anytime, Kaoru."

"Do you know what?" Kaoru asked, the smile widening on her face.

"What?" Megumi replied, a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

"Yahiko was trying so hard to cheer me up that you wouldn't believe what he said. He told me that he LOVED my cooking!" as soon as she said that, both females burst into laughter.

"He did! He must have been desperate!" Megumi responded through her fit of laughter.

"HEY! My cooking isn't THAT bad!" Kaoru said pretending to be offended.

"Whatever you say, Raccoon Girl," was all that Megumi could say as her laughter slowly subsided. Both women looked at each other and gave another smile.

"Well, I better go get the two juvenile delinquents before they burn down the city," Megumi announced, gracefully getting up from her position on the wooden floor. Kaoru had to giggle.

"I can only imagine what they've done."

-o-o-o- In the Mind of Kaoru and Megumi -o-o-o-

Sano is running as fast as he can with a whining Yahiko slung over his shoulder.

Yahiko yells, "NOW LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE! I ALWAYS KNEW ROOSTERS WERE STUPID!"

Sano looks back at burning building.

"IT WASN'T MY FAULT!"

-o-o-o- End of Mind Scene -o-o-o-

Kaoru and Megumi gave each other inquiring looks, as they chorused, "Naaahhh, couldn't be." Then the duo busted up in uncontrollable laughter.

"I'm glad you're better Raccoon."

"All thanks to you, Vixen." Kaoru smiled at her nickname for Megumi. With a 'humph' and a flip of her hair, Megumi strolled out the door with a mischievous grin on her face. She could hear the click of the dojo gate being shut with Megumi's leave.

--sigh-- _What would I do without my friends?_ Kaoru thought to herself. She closed her eyes and she swore for a second, she could feel Kenshin's warm hand on her shoulder. Breaking out of her moment, Kaoru decided to train. It was a good way to get out all of her pent-up emotions out of her veins. So she jogged over to the bokken rack, eager to once again get into her normal routine. Little did she know that soon, her happy moment would be greatly disturbed.

-o-o-o-

Imuno, unbeknownst to Kaoru, had stealthily snuck into her dojo's walls and now resided on the rooftop above her. He said that he would come to finish his job, and he never went back on his promises. He mentally chuckled to himself. _This is going to be TOO simple. I couldn't have prayed for a better time to be here _he thought happily. _The girl clearly has no great skills at swordsmanship, she is quite emotional at the moment, and to top the cake, no one is here to save her._ His fingers drummed on his sword sheath with anticipation. _Why am I still here? I should hurry up and finish the job so that finally…I can reside peacefully in my village._ With that he jumped down onto the porch surrounding the dojo, and briskly opened the shoji door.

-o-o-o-

Kaoru jumped, startled by the sound of the screen door opening. She twisted her head around to peer at who entered. She opened her mouth to tell them not to surprise her like that when to her amazement; there was no one there. Shocked Kaoru blinked a couple of times and called out 'hello' to make sure that nobody was there.

_Must be my mind playing tricks on me,_ she concluded as she turned back around to return to her exercises. Kaoru's eyes widened to the size of saucers and she was about to scream when a large, muscled hand clamped her mouth shut.

"So Miss Kamiya, did you really think that you would get away from me?" hissed Imuno into Kaoru's unsuspecting ear. The only answer that he got in response was a couple muffled cries from under his calloused hand along with the emerging of tears. "Ha ha, I didn't think so," with that said he let her go and she dashed over to her bokken.

Holding it out in front of her in a defensive stance she yelled, "What are you doing here! Haven't you done enough damage!" with a dry laugh his smile widened, showing white, predator-like teeth.

"My darling, I think you know exactly why I'm here," he paused for a moment for the effect. "I'm here to finish my job darling. To finish YOU off." He then smoothly pulled out his sharpened steel sword. "I think you would be glad to know that I will be killing you with the same sword that I killed your dearest Battousai with," he then brought the sword to his lips and licked the sword dangerously in emphasis to his words.

"DON'T YOU EVEN DARE SAY HIS NAME! CREATURES LIKE YOU DON'T DESERVE TO!" Kaoru snarled back, her knuckles turning white with the intensity she was gripping her wooden sword with. "And by the way…Don't EVER Call Me DARLING!" she then lunged at the monster with all of her rage and inner fury. He easily sidestepped her attack and flung her out of the room, onto the dirt outside. Kaoru landed on her side with a thud and rolled away from the dojo. _How…how can he move so fast?_ She thought, astonished, as she pushed herself off the ground. Imuno slowly slid out the door to look down at the now dirt-covered Kaoru.

"Don't underestimate me Kaoru. I won't go easy on you because you're a woman." New fire burned in Kaoru's eyes as she attacked the murderer once again. He just gave her a pathetic look as he slashed his sword downward, breaking her bokken into smithereens.

Stopping, Kaoru looked down into her hands. The only things left of her bokken were tiny splinters of wood. Kaoru was now shaking. She now had nothing to defend herself with other than her own two hands and feet. Imuno cackled at her loss.

"Well Beautiful, looks like you're at the end of the line. Do you have any last words?" She just stood there motionless, helplessness in her eyes. "Well then Miss Kaoru, prepare to meet your maker." He brought his katana up and forcefully trusted it toward where her shoulder and neck connected. But the satisfying tearing of flesh was never felt. Kaoru stopped the sword seconds before it ended her life. She looked up to meet Imuno's stare, blue fire in her depths.

"Only one person is allowed to call me 'Miss Kaoru,'" she said in a cold, venomous tone, "and it is not you!" She pushed Imuno's katana out of her hands and punched him as hard as she could in the face, leaving a dead on, bloody fist print. Imuno took a few steps back from the sure force of the punch. He reached up and touched the place of impact. He could tell and it was going to leave a bruise.

_How could I have let this…this…FILTHY woman catch me off-guard_ he inwardly fumed. He turned and gave Kaoru the iciest look he could muster. He spit some blood out of his mouth and got into a stance that Kaoru easily recognized. The Battojutsu: a stance that increases the speed of the sword's swing by three. Any swordsperson would know this stance.

Kaoru gulped. _I won't give up! I will defeat this beast…or die trying! _she encouraged herself. Quickly, she got into a position and awaited her fate. Imuno once again showed his feral smile, his eyes lighting up with malice.

"Prepare to die Ms. Kamiya," he told her, confidence evident in his words. With that he disappeared and Kaoru felt a sharp, excruciating pain in her chest.

She hadn't stopped him in time. She hadn't even seen him. She started breathing heavily in short, heavy gasps. She fell to her knees and she knew that she wouldn't be lasting long. Imuno was now in her sight. She wished that she had the strength to wipe that evil grin off his face. But, she barely had the strength to keep her eyes open, let alone move.

Imuno slowly strode over to her and grabbed her by the chin. He touched his lips to her forehead. When he pulled away, Kaoru felt like his lips were acid on her skin. She wanted to puke!

He just looked her in the eyes and said softly, "Sweet dreams precious." He then let go of her chin, and left the premises. He walked away with an air of calmness, like the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders.

Laying on the cold ground Kaoru's vision began to blurr. With Imuno's last words echoing in her mind, she took her last breath, closed her eyes, and let the darkness take over.

Rain started sprinkling over the city of Tokyo, as if the heavens were mourning the loss of a beloved soul. Sano, Yahiko and Megumi started running back to the dojo. Joy in their smiles and happiness in their hearts. They would enjoy that moment of bliss because soon, upon entering the dojo, they would be shedding tears of despair along with the sky.

Little did anyone know, that someone was watching them from above; the ones that were making the rain fall and who were equally saddened by this series of unfortunate turnings…

**End of Chapter 2: _To Be or Not to Be…That is the Question_**

_----------------------------------------_

1. Kami basically means God. So _Oh Kami_ would mean _Oh God_

_How was that? I know, it's kind of evil to have both of the main characters die but…--begging-- PLEASE DON'T FLAME ME TOO BAD. Things will get better from now on, I promise. These two chapters where just kind of beginning chapters to get things rolling. Now is when the real fun starts --evil laughter-- Wha ha ha. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review. Until next time…_


	3. Welcome Back

**-**Disclaimer: Love-Lee Light Maiden does not own any characters from Rurouni Kenshin. All Rurouni Kenshin characters rightfully belong to their creator, Nobuhiro Watsuki.

**Second Chance Screw-up**

By, Love-Lee Light Maiden

Written by: Bunny

Edited by: Evlo

**Chapter 3: _Welcome Back_**

"…" indicates talking

…_italics_… indicates thoughts

…blah blah blah... indicates sounds

o-o-o- indicates change in scenery

-III-III-III-III-III-

_No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently._

_- William Jennings Bryan_

_Love is a symbol of eternity  
that wipes away all sense of time,  
removing all memory of a beginning  
and all fear of an end._

-III-III-III-III-III-_  
_  
**_From the last Chapter:_**

Laying on the cold ground Kaoru's vision began to blurr. With Imuno's last words echoing in her mind, she took her last breath, closed her eyes, and let the darkness take over.

Rain started sprinkling over the city of Tokyo, as if the heavens were mourning the loss of a beloved soul. Sano, Yahiko and Megumi started running back to the dojo. Joy in their smiles and happiness in their hearts. They would enjoy that moment of bliss because soon, upon entering the dojo, they would be shedding tears of despair along with the sky.

Little did anyone know, that someone was watching them from above; the ones that were making the rain fall and who were equally saddened by this series of unfortunate turnings…

-III-III-III-III-III-

Hysterical crying could be heard throughout the corridors of the heavenly realm; the notes of sorrow echoing harshly off the walls of clouds. Heaven was always thought to be a place of joy and happiness, where all can come to rest peacefully in their new lives as spirits. But not for these two angels. They had just witnessed a most awful, heart retching story, being played out right before their pure, innocent eyes. Their juicy, wet drops of emotion fell down upon the unsuspecting world, as rain. Rain, on what was supposed to be a bright, glorious day. But sorrow never is too soon, nor is it too late. It comes when it comes and all we can do is accept it and move on, hopefully learning from its unwavering bitterness. Unfortunately, this was not what either of these two celestial beings had running through their minds.

sobbing "Wwwhhhhaaaaaa!"

"Shhhh sniff sniff STOP YOUR BLUBBERING!"

"Wwhhaaaaaaaa!"

"I said QUIT IT!"

"Look who's talking sniff YOU'RE CRYING TOO!" screeched the first angel, Harmony. She turned to the second angel, her short, blonde hair bobbing around her ear lobes. Her big, turquoise eyes staring into the face of her partner, daring him to disagree.

Nimbus opened his mouth attempting to make a comeback, but immediately shut it when he saw her big, watering, pathetic-looking eyes. He tossed his long, braided, mahogany hair over his shoulder and glared a hole into the ceiling with his golden eyes. There was just no arguing with her, especially when everything she said was true. He quickly wiped his eyes, erasing any further evidence.

"How could the upper choirs allow this to happen?" Harmony continued to rant. (1) "This is just so…so…HORRIBLE!" with that a new rush of tears came on and she flung herself into Nimbus' crossed arms.

Surprised, Nimbus opened his arms and nervously looked down at his comrade. He usually tried to AVIOD this kind of contact with ANYONE, but since Harmony seemed desperate he decided to take a stab at being 'sensitive.' There didn't seem to be any other way to shut her up. He tentatively brought his arms down and tapped her back. "Come on, don't go all 'cry-baby' on me," he hesitantly tried. When that just made her choke out another sob he used a different tactic, "Don't worry, things will work out…sigh…they always do," he lamely commented.

Harmony looked up at him, eyes soggy and red. "How can you say that!" she exclaimed. She pulled away and looked him straight in the eyes. "It made even YOU cry! And you're the most…" Nimbus unconsciously leaned in closer to hear what she had to say about him, "…manly, tough," Nimbus smiled and puffed his chest out in pride, he knew he had made a good impression on her, "rough, unloving, careless and selfish angel in heaven!" His pride immediately deflated and he gave her a bland, deadpan stare.

_Well..._ he thought, _at least she's honest._

"And what's even worse," she added as if she had said nothing wrong, "is that we can't do ANYTHING to change their fates!"

Looking up, Nimbus' grim appearance now lit up with mischief, with a twinkle in his eye and a sly grin plastered on his face. "Well I wouldn't say THAT," he nonchalantly hinted. Harmony gave him a puzzled look, so he decided to fill her in on his mounting plans. "I've been around the celestial hierarchy in my time, Harmony," he started wrapping a finely toned arm around her shoulders. "I've met my share of angels, and it just so happens that one of them was a Cherubim."

gasp "Really," asked Harmony, in complete awe.

"Yes, I really did meet AND befriend a Cherubim. His name was Halon, real nice guy. But anyway, back on topic, he taught me ONE, not two or three, but one powerful modification technique. He told me to only use it in a most dire situation, it's THAT strong," he gave Harmony a look that clearly told her that he wasn't joking. "To be specific, it is a power that allows you to change the fabric of destiny, IF your will is strong enough."

Immediately Harmony's face lit up with joy, seemingly shining with happiness. "OH NIMBUS, this is fabulous! Why didn't you tell me earlier? Now we can make a happy ending and-"

"Wait Harmony, I'm not finished yet," interrupted Nimbus. The tone in his voice implied all seriousness and left no room for argument. Harmony quickly stopped her train of thinking and prepared herself to soak in every detail. It was on the rare occasion that he was ever THIS serious, so the information he had to say must have been crucial. "Although it is true that this modification CAN be undetected by even the most powerful of celestial beings, it is VERY difficult to perform. Even if the most minuscule of things go wrong, we risk being expelled from heaven for eternity."

Harmony's eyes opened wide. She couldn't even imagine life out of heaven. Even though she was just an amateur angel, she had grown to call the clouds, bright lights and the all-around happiness her home. Could she really live without it? Was her will and determination alone enough to get through the ordeal? She knew she could count on Nimbus if he said he would help, even though he wasn't a perfect angel, he was exceedingly trustworthy, surpassingly loyal and even thought he may 'act' stupid sometimes, he had the mind of a genius. For a fleeting second she wondered what he would be like as a human. She quickly shook her head and refocused. But…would she risk everything she loved for a pair of humans? These instances had happened many times before in the human world, so many in fact, that it was useless to even try counting them all. Were the two lovers really that special? Contemplating all of these issues, she sat in silence, her eyes clouding in thought.

Nimbus just sat and watched the considering angel. It was actually quite entertaining to watch the plethora of emotions play across her face. He wondered if she even realized she was as easy to read as an open book. Tossing those thoughts out, he pondered if she would do it or not. She was apparently having a hard time weighing the rewards with the consequences. Heck, even if she decided to go through with it, he wondered if HE could carry out the technique without flaw. Sure, he was more experienced than Harmony but…if they made a mistake they could get caught, or they could even alter the very people they were trying to save. He purposely didn't tell Harmony that little detail. Who knows how she would react if he told her that? With a shrug, he let her be and turned around to watch the world below. Humans were so interesting; you never knew what they would do next.

-o-o-o-

Everyone was dressed in black, heads down, shoulders slumped, numb to the world around them. No one dared to breathe a word in the deadly silent dojo. Each of the people in question were very different but they were all brought together by one cruel tragedy. And even though their brains were all filled and jumping with thoughts, they were all bound together by one question: how could this possibly happen?

Misao, not liking to keep things to herself, was the first one to voice her thoughts, "How could this happen?" she asked in a thick voice, very much the opposite of her usual 'happy-go-lucky' perkiness. "I mean, first Himura, then Kaoru? That's…that's…just not possible!" she said, her voice rising in despair.

All eyes where on her. Her shoulders were slightly quivering as she tried to hold back the sobs. Aoshi wrapped one of his long arms around her, trying to sooth away her pain. If she weren't in such turmoil, Misao would have been ecstatic from the mere contact of her secret crush.

"Well, apparently is it possible kid-o," Sano commented, "because if it wasn't we all wouldn't be here right now, I'd be swiping Missy's awful food, she'd be chasing me, then she'd hit me with her STUPID bokken, and we'd all be bright and cheery-like. But NO! That's NOT what's happening! And instead of enjoying ourselves, we are at her DAMN FUNERAL!" he vented out, letting out all of his frustration and rage the only way he knew how. He ran his fingers through his spiky mop of hair and balled his hand into a fist, using it to punch the floor.

"YOU STUPID ROOSTER HEAD! YOU'RE NOT HELPING!" Megumi yelled at the steaming Sanosuke.

"WELL SOORRRRY FOX! I GUESS I JUST CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT, NOW CAN I!"

"THAT'S-"

"WOULD YOU TWO JUST SHUT UP!" shouted an irritated Yahiko. "LOOK AT YOU TWO! You're both acting so immature! AND THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE MY JOB!" he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Calming down would make everybody's life easier. "Yelling won't get us anywhere," Yahiko continued, "even though I do admit that it does make you feel better," he added as an afterthought.

Everybody was staring at him in shock. How could this little boy, who usually was the one doing all of the yelling, be spouting out words of wisdom that the adults failed to grasp? It just wasn't natural! But then…funny things happen when death is around you.

"Yahiko is right," stated Dr. Genzai in the back. He looked at Yahiko and gave him an approving nod. He now stood up and addressed the group, "I have known Kaoru since she could barely reach my knees, and in all those years she has always been a bright, cheerful girl," a grim smile played across his face, remembering a small, bouncy Kaoru. "She wouldn't want us here yelling at each other and being so 'down in the dumps.' I think she would want us to celebrate, in remembrance of how she has touched all of our lives."

A thoughtful silence swept over the room, letting Dr. Genzai's words settle in their mourning souls.

"Dr. Genzai's right," said Tae, breaking the silence. "If I know Kaoru at all, she would want us to be happy, and for us to always keep her close in our hearts. That way, she'll never be forgotten."

"And now she can be in peace…with Sir. Ken at her side," added Megumi. Everyone looked down at the floor, recalling the other sorrowful event.

"Funny how things work out that way," Sano commented lamely.

"I hear that true love lasts forever, even after death, sometimes into our next lives," offhandedly said Misao.

"So that means that Ugly is happy…wherever she is…with Kenshin," Yahiko whispered, just loud enough for them to hear. Sano reached over and ruffled Yahiko's spiky, black hair.

"Then I propose that we all go down to the restaurant in town and have a toast to Kaoru," offered Sano, "Then maybe afterwards we can have a nice dinner in honor of her too." Everyone looked at him and smiled, that was their Sano, back in action.

"I think that is the first smart thing I have ever heard you say Sagara," Aoshi taunted.

Sano just smiled and shrugged the comment off, "I'll take that as a compliment."

With that said and done, everyone slowly filed one-by-one out the door, each one of them contemplating what they would order at the restaurant. The sadness never left them; it just was lessened with the thought of Kaoru's happiness. The last one still in the room was Yahiko. He stood there for a moment and just looked at the empty dojo room. He lifted his head up towards the sky, closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of air. He reopened his eyes and said, "Don't worry about me ugly, I'll take care of the dojo for you. I'll carry on the Kamiya Kasshin Style and make you proud." He stood there for a moment longer before he heard someone calling him outside.

"Come on Little Yahiko," called Tsubame, "we're waiting for you."

"I'm NOT little!" he playfully called back to her, smiling at her voice. He turned around and heading out of the room, but before he left, he turned around and murmured one last thought, "Things won't be the same around here…I'll always miss you…Kaoru." Feeling like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, he spun around and ran to Tsubame's side. And together, they all walked to the restaurant, no longer in the crummy mood that they were before. The very air around them seemed to lighten at the prospect that there still could be a happy ending for them all.

-o-o-o-

Nimbus smiled and shook his head. Like he said before, humans were so unpredictable. But he had to admit; he saw a bright future for that group. _Well, now that that's taken care of, let's watch that family in Brazil. I wonder if their child survived the sickness she had… I hope so,_ he prayed. He was just about to check up on the family when…

"Nimbus."

He swiveled around in his puffy cloud-chair to face her. Harmony looked at him straight in the eyes. She had a firm-set jaw and a look of determination in her eyes. "Yeah, Harmony."

"I…I've decided that…I…I want to help these people, no matter the risks," she stated.

"You sure about this?" he asked, making sure she was prepared to do this.

"Very," she answered simply.

"Okay then, I'll give you the run-down on what we have to do," he started. "First, we have to meditate, to relax ourselves and to make us ready for the next steps. After we are calm and relaxed, we join hands and I start the chant. From that point on Harmony, you have to only think about what you want to change. Think about Kenshin and Kaoru and picture what you would like to see happen to them. But, you have to be persistent and determined, with no doubt in your mind…or else there are consequences that can happen." He stopped for a moment to let what he said sink in. "After a while you can FEEL your picture in your head being pulled down to earth and being pulled into the threads of time. At that point you need to concentrate your hardest and really BELIEVE that what you imagine can come true. Once you can feel that your picture is in place and has a firm place on earth, then you can open your eyes and tell me to stop chanting."

"That's it?" she asked. It seemed so easy. Heck, she could probably do it alone.

"It's not as easy as it sounds. The chant is in one of the ancient tongues of the Creator. Very few know of it and not very many angels, or even higher beings, can pull this off," he said in all seriousness.

"Okay…" Harmony whispered, mostly to herself and took a deep breathe. "Let's get started… I'm ready when you are."

"Then let's start meditating," Nimbus replied and gently set himself on the floor Indian-style. After a few seconds, his body seemed to relax and to go almost limp. His face was clear of all emotions. Harmony followed suit and sat, clearing her mind of everything and everyone. It was much easier said than done, when she had endless thoughts of 'what ifs' and small doubts about if what she was doing was right. But, to do this right she had to banish all those thoughts out of her mind. So she sat there, for what seemed like eternity, ridding her head of all negative thoughts.

When she knew her mind was clear, Harmony grasped Nimbus' hands and started to concentrate on the two humans.

With the feel of her touch, Nimbus started reciting the lines that the Cherubim had taught him. Letting the words flow out of his memory and into the present. He hoped Harmony knew what she was doing, because from this moment on, he had to be in his own world, where only the words he was saying mattered. From now on, she was on her own.

Harmony pictured the two humans, Kenshin and Kaoru, in the future Japan, in a park, happily married and laughing together. The sun was shining it seemed like nothing could ruin the moment. That was when other thoughts started filling Harmony's mind. Thoughts of the evil person who killed them, Imuno, and "what if this didn't work?" and thoughts of the couple's friends. But before Harmony could pull herself together, she felt her imagined picture drifting away, being pull into another place, far away from her. _Wait!_ She frantically thought. _I can't let this happen!_ She reached for her dream to try and take it back, but instead she felt an intense, burning energy forcefully pushing her away. _No! This can't be happening! NNNOOOOOO!_

In that moment, Harmony and Nimbus were blown into the walls of the heavenly room by the burning energy. They both slowly opened their eyes and looked at each other.

"Harmony…wha…what happened?" questioned Nimbus in confused shock.

Harmony just looked at him with her wide, horrified eyes. She started shaking and tears swelled up behind her eyes. "I…I…screwed everything up…I…I…I'm sorry Nimbus…I'M SO SORRY!" with that the floodgates where broken and she silently started sobbing into her hands.

Nimbus just sat there, surprised at her outburst. He blinked and ran frustrated and angry fingers through his now unbound hair. _GREAT! JUST GREAT! She HAD to go and mess things up! _He thought furiously at Harmony. He didn't think that what she did was large enough to get them caught, but enough to put all of the humans involved into a totally different destiny and fate. He took a deep, calming breath; _I just hope the humans weren't horribly transformed._ He then looked at Harmony and walked over to her. "I don't think we'll get caught Harmony but…I don't know about the humans…" She looked up at him with wet eyes and stopped crying for a moment to listen to him. "We'll just have to wait and see what happens…"

-o-o-o-

_June 3, 1989_

_3:23 p.m._

_Tokyo_

_In a hospital _

"OH. MY. GODDDDDD!"

"It's okay Honey. BREATH. BREATH."

"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU PUSH THIS OUT!" yelled a woman with long, black hair. Sweat trickled down her face and her face was scrunched up in pain. She was squeezing her husband's hand like a lifeline. Luckily, his hand had gone numb about a half hour ago and he didn't feel a thing.

"Ma'am! Keep pushing. You only have a little farther to go! The head is almost out!" said an annoying nurse in front of her.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID TWO HOURS AGO! I NEED DRUGS!" the woman screamed.

"It's too late for that now!" the doctor yelled back. "The head's half-way out! PUSH!" ordered the doctor and the woman replied by giving a push and crying out in agony.

"Come on Sakura! You can do this!" cheered on her husband.

"YOU DID THIS TO ME GARY! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAAUULLLTTTTT!" she screamed and dug her nails into his hand. She suddenly calmed down and panted. They could hear a baby's cry and the doctor smiled at the couple.

"Congratulations Mr. And Mrs. Kamiya, you have a beautiful baby boy," he said softly. Mr. Kamiya went over to the baby and cut the umbilical cord. The nurses cleaned the baby, wrapped it up in towels and handed it to the relieved mother.

"Isn't he handsome," she cooed, clearly exhausted by the ordeal.

"Yes he is," Gary replied, "But we thought it was going to be a girl. We were going to name her Kaoru, now what?" he asked.

"How about Kyo? He looks like a Kyo to me" Sakura answered, still breathing hard from the effort of giving birth.

When she said that, the baby opened his eyes and smiled up at his parents.

"I think he likes that name," Gary replied, tears of joy in his eyes.

"Welcome to the world…Kyo," Sakura said and kissed her new baby boy on the forehead.

-o-o-o-

_June 20, 1989_

_5:20 a.m._

_Tokyo_

_A different hospital than before_

"DOCTOR! DOCTOR! She's losing too much blood! If we don't do something quick we'll lose her!" yelled a frantic nurse to a fast-working doctor.

"I can see that! But the baby is almost out! If we work fast, we can save them both!" retaliated the doctor, his hands working like quicksilver.

"But Doctor-"

"NO BUTS!" he said frustrated. "Do as I tell you and we can get through this!"

"Yes sir," she answered and complied with his demands.

Meanwhile outside the hospital room door, paced a sickly worried man with bags under his eyes. He was a medium-built man with black hair and violet eyes. He was in his mid-twenties but his haggard appearance made him seem years older. _What's happening in there!_ He thought to himself. _All I can hear in there are yells and the loud pounding of feet,_ He stopped for a moment to run shaky fingers through his hair. He glanced at the door and started pacing the hall again. _Why won't they let me in? MY child is being born! _sigh _I just hope Elizabeth is all right. I know how much trouble she had during the pregnancy._

"AAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the woman yelled in agony. Varicose veins were popping out of her arms and her sweat soaked hair looked as red as blood. The world around her started to fade and she didn't know how much more of this she could endure. But no matter what, she WOULD bring this baby boy into the world! For her AND for her husband, Matsu. So, as another contraction came she pushed with all she was worth.

"You're doing great Mrs. Himura! Stay with us!" encouraged the doctor at the foot of her bed. She took a deep breath of the heavy air and pushed one last time. "It's out Mrs. Himura! Your baby has been born," he hurriedly said as he cut the umbilical cord, put the wailing baby into a towel, and handed it to it's mother. Turning to the nurse he yelled, "Betty! Get more blood! She fading fast! Blood Type AB, STAT!"

But Elizabeth heard none of the commotion. All of her attention was fixed onto her new child, who had miraculously opened its eyes to stare up at her. In that same moment, it had stopped crying. This was HER creation. Tears ran down her face and she felt all her energy leave her body. With her dying breath she whispered to her babe, "Live happily Kenshin…I love you." Suddenly the heart monitors flat lined.

Hearing the heart monitor, Matsu came rushing into the room then stared at his wife. "Liz!" He went to her and picked up the once-again screaming newborn. He looked at the wonderful living being in his arms, then at the cold, unmoving form of his love. He touched her face with his free hand, hoping that the touch would wake her from a spell.

Suddenly a large hand was placed on his shoulder. He looked up to see the regretful face of the doctor. "We're sorry Mr. Himura. We tried to save her but…we just couldn't manage," he pause for a moment and looked at the dead body of Mrs. Himura. "At least you have her soul in your new baby girl."

"Girl?" Matsu repeated in shock. They were told they were having a boy. Liz and he had even picked out the perfect name: Kenshin.

"Yes sir," replied the doctor sullenly, "a beautiful baby girl." With those words he walked away, out into the hallway.

Mr. Himura stared long and hard at the baby nestled in his arms. He thought for a moment, then he gave a dry laugh, "I guess you'll just be Kenna then. Kenna Elizabeth Himura." Just saying his deceased wife's name was like a hammer to the heart, shattering it into a million pieces. Droplet after droplet of pain came gliding down Matsu's high cheekbones. He opened his eyes and stared into the identical pair of his daughter's. "Will you put together my broken heart Kenna?" he pleaded as he broke down into sobs, both in joy and sorrow.

Carefully, the little girl was pried away from his grasp and put somewhere to rest. Mr. Himura was left to himself, alone in the room, to stew in his own flurry of emotions.

-o-o-o-

sigh "Well…I guess it could have been worse," remarked Nimbus as he closed his eyes and slouched down into his cloud-chair. He looked over at an unhappy Harmony who nodded in agreement. "Looks like you didn't do as bad as you thought, eh?"

"I guess so…" she unemotionally replied. She had pictured a perfect life for both of them: full of happiness and contentment. But it seems one of them already had a rocky road ahead of them. If only she had tried harder…

Nimbus suddenly shot up out of his chair and turned to the blonde angel in annoyance. "Jeez Harmony! You did the best that you could, so stop sulking about it!" he huffed and turned his back to her. "What's done is done, and I'm not trying our little stunt again, so you're best just to deal with what you have," Nimbus threw out in frustration. How long was he going to have to put up with her moping!

"But it's all my fault-"

"STOP! If your going to whine and complain do it somewhere else! I can't take it anymore!"

"Okay…I'll stop," she mumbled.

"Thank goodness!" Nimbus said in relief and flopped back down into his terribly comfortable chair. "Just be glad that they're back Harmony. Their life couldn't turn out any worse that it was before. Be thankful," he told her as he leaned forward to inspect the two humans again.

The female angel sat there for a moment, rolling Nimbus' comments in her head for a while, trying to get their full meaning. Then she looked up with gratitude at the angel intently watching the human world. "Okay Nimbus, I'll be happy for them. You're right…as always. Thanks," she said the last word so low, that Nimbus could barely hear her.

"You're right, I am always right. So don't question my judgment," he threw over his shoulder sarcastically, not taking his ever-watching eyes off the realm below. "But, you're welcome anyway," Nimbus said with sincerity, looking up at her. She just smiled at him and shook her head. He would never change. With her actions he mimicked her smile with a grin of his own and chuckled. He stared back down on their new pets, the grin never vanishing, "Welcome back, Kenshin and Kaoru…" came his greeting, "…or should I say 'Welcome to the world Kyo and Kenna'?"

**End of Chapter 3: _Welcome Back_**

-III-III-III-III-III-

1. Some people believe that there is a 'ranking' of celestial beings, which is the hierarchy of celestial beings. The beings are separated into three choirs (groups), the first being the most powerful and influential and the third being the least. The rankings are as follows:

**First Choir:** Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones

**Second Choir: **Dominations, Virtues and Powers

**Third Choir:** Principalities, Archangels and Angels

_Hey, hey, hey. It's me again. groan I didn't think that writing a fanfiction story would take so long. It's harder than it sounds…geez. I'm sorry that I didn't update sooner. I planned on updating much sooner, but fanfiction screwed up all of my formatting, so I had to reformat the whole story! Grrr. Well, anyways, how did you like my angel characters? I personally liked writing Nimbus' parts, it was fun. Like always, I hope that you enjoyed reading this chapter. I tried to add more humor into it with the angels but, I could just be a dork and THINK that what I write is funny…when it's really not (hee hee). Thank you all for reviewing (lots of love from me to you). Your comments inspire me to work harder on my story (not to mention faster too). Sorry again for the hold up. Well, thanks for reading Second Chance Screw-Up. Until next time…_


	4. A New Beggining

Disclaimer: Love-Lee Light Maiden does not own any characters from Rurouni Kenshin. All Rurouni Kenshin characters rightfully belong to their creator, Nobuhiro Watsuki.

**Second Chance Screw-up**

By: Love-Lee Light Maiden

Written by: Bunny

Edited by: Evlo

Beta Reader: darksaphire

**Chapter 4: _A New Beginning_**

"…" indicates talking

…_italics_… indicates thoughts

…blah blah blah… indicates sounds

o-o-o- indicates change in scenery

-IV-IV-IV-IV-IV-

_Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Walk beside me and be my friend._

_A positive attitude may not solve every problem but it makes solving any problem a more pleasant experience.  
Grant Fairley_

-IV-IV-IV-IV-IV-

_  
_  
**_From the last Chapter:_**

"You're right, I am always right. So don't question my judgment," he threw over his shoulder sarcastically, not taking his ever-watching eyes off the realm below. "But, you're welcome anyway," Nimbus said with sincerity, looking up at her. She just smiled at him and shook her head. He would never change. With her actions he mimicked her smile with a grin of his own and chuckled. He stared back down on their new pets, the grin never vanishing, "Welcome back, Kenshin and Kaoru…" came his greeting, "…or should I say 'Welcome to the world Kyo and Kenna'?"

-IV-IV-IV-IV-IV-

_April 13, 1991_

_Courthouse_

_Kyoto, Japan_

"Miss Hoshiko Seijurou, I hear by give you custody of Kenna Himura. Your older brother, Matsu Himura, wrote in his last will and testament that if anything should happen to him, the child Kenna should be left in your care. Since the recent death of your brother, our inspection has concluded that you will be able to provide a suitable environment for this young girl. Miss Seijurou, do you agree to take on this responsibility, or should Kenna be placed in someone else's care?"

"That will not be necessary your Honor, I will take Kenna Himura into my custody and raise her as my own."

"Then court is adjourned," boomed the judge, as he brought down his big, wooden gavel, ending the session. Everyone then stood up and crammed their way through the big oak doors and left.

Once Miss Seijurou was outside, she spotted a small girl in a magenta sundress. She appeared to be about three years old and was standing next to a security guard. _This must be her_ Hoshiko thought as she took her time walking over to the child, examining her every step of the way. She had long, fiery-red hair, _she must have gotten it from my sister-in-law_, and was petite despite her only being three.

When Hoshiko finally stopped in front of the girl, her black high-heeled shoes stopping their endless clicking on the hardwood floors. Two big, violet eyes looked up to greet her.

_This must be my niece,_ she thought with a smirk, _there is no mistaking my brother's eyes_.

"Are you Miss Hoshiko Seijurou?" asked the guard in a business-like manner.

"Yes, that would be me," she replied.

"Then I will leave the child in your care," said the security guard as he looked down at the small child and smiled. "Bye Kenna, it was good to meet a sweet girl such as yourself," he addressed her in a genuinely softer voice, and started walking further back into the confines of the courthouse.

"Bye-bye, Mr. Security Man!" called a gentle, bright, cheery voice behind him. Hoshiko looked down to see the girl on her tiptoes, waving frantically to the security guard. Once the guard had rounded the corner Kenna stopped and gently lowered herself from her toe tops. _Hmm…interesting,_ thought Hoshiko, _she has wonderful balance_. Kenna's lavender eyes now spun to Hoshiko, as if observing her. Resulting in a raised, finely groomed eyebrow from Hoshiko. What Kenna saw was a tall, twenty-two year old women in a dark gray business suit, sophisticated glasses perched on her prim nose, accentuating her dark, almost black, eyes; and very long, black hair, that usually reached her hips, piled on top of her head in a neat bun. This look gave many people the impression of the absolute picture of intelligence, wisdom and grace.

"You must be Kenna," stated Hoshiko.

"Yep," chirped Kenna, her sunny smile now replaced with a shy one.

"My name is Hoshiko Seijurou; I'm your aunt. You'll be living with me from now on." Hoshiko looked down at the child to see her reaction, while starting to walk to her car a few blocks away, Kenna trotting at her side. She was surprised when the girl didn't give one, but just shrugged it off and continued, "I am a lawyer, and in my spare time I practice kendo. Do you know what kendo is?" Kenna shook her head, having never heard of it before. "It is a sport using wooden practice swords, you'll be learning it soon, and _I_ will be your teacher."

"Really?" Kenna asked in awe, her bright eyes widening.

"Yes. I won't have any girl of mine being a 'damsel in distress.' You will learn how to properly defend yourself."

Kenna was silent. This was totally different than how she used to live.

Hoshiko stopped in front of a sleek, black car; turning off the alarms and unlocking the doors. Opening one of the doors to the backseats, Hoshiko buckled Kenna into place and walked around to the drivers seat. After hearing the click of the seatbelt, Hoshiko put the keys into the ignition and the car softly hummed to life. Pulling out of the parking space, the car glided down the streets of Kyoto, Japan. Hoshiko expertly driving to her destination: her traditional, Japanese chateau and Kenna's new home.

-o-o-o-

_Tokyo, Japan_

_1993_

Bang. The metal screen-door slammed against the wall of the apartment complex. A little boy came running out of the door and raced down the various hallways. He flew down the stairs and out into the street, searching for somewhere, ANYWHERE, where he could be alone.

"KYO! GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!" yelled a woman from a window on the second floor of the apartments. Tears streaked down her face as the wind whipped her hair around. "Kyo, STOP!" she screamed one last time in a desperate attempt to call her little boy back to her, failing miserably.

She sunk down on her knees, meeting the hard coldness of the linoleum floor. She reached up and covered her face with her hands. If anyone where to look close enough they would see the slight shaking of her shoulders and the tears seeping in between her fingers. But despite her feelings, she got up and made her way to the front door. There she half-hazardly threw on her jacket and slipped on the first pair of shoes she saw. Stumbling, she made her way outside of the apartment, determined to bring her son back before he got into any danger. If he was hurt, she didn't know what she would do.

Kyo ran, ran for all he was worth. He didn't care if his heart was beating a mile per minute. He didn't care if his feet hurt because of his old sneakers. He didn't care if the cold air was turning his lips blue. None of that mattered. Those didn't even compare to the pain of his breaking heart. Now that…that…NO! He couldn't say it. He would never say it! It just couldn't be…

Kyo slowed down his pace to clear his ragged breathing and pushed his jet-black hair out of his line of vision. His blue eyes scanned the area to find somewhere to sit down. Somehow, Kyo had stumbled into the neighborhood park; his favorite place. He jogged over to the sandbox. Nobody was usually there, thus, a great place to sit and be alone.

Unfortunately for Kyo, today had not been a good day and was obviously not intending on getting any better. There was a GIRL in the sandbox! And a red-haired munchkin at that! Was the world out to get him! It seemed that way. He HATED girls! Especially the little cute ones. They were just plain EVIL! Besides…they were the ones with the most cooties. But, ignoring what his instincts told him about staying away from little girls with icky germs, he went to the sandbox and plopped himself down smack dab in the middle. Making himself comfortable, Kyo settled down and gave the girl the most irritated glare he could muster.

But, oblivious of the implications of the glare, the girl just looked up from her sandcastle, gave a big, toothy-white grin and perkily said, "HELLO!" As the boy persisted to give her an evil stare she simply asked in an 'oh-so-charming' voice, "What's your name? Mine's Kenna." When all she got in response was silence she replied, "Well it's nice to meet you Mr. No-Name." Seeing the boy cringe at the 'Mr. No-Name' she kept smiling and went on asking, "Do you want to play with me?"

The boy looked down at the sand castle in between them. It DID look fun, but being the stubborn individual that he was he just crossed his arms and turned his head away. The girl just shot him a perplexed look then shrugged him off. _Fine _she thought matter-of-factly, _if he doesn't want to play, then he is just missing out on all the fun. He won't spoil my good time._ With that settled Kenna returned to her construction of the sandcastle.

After a while of just sitting there and watching, Kyo couldn't take it anymore! He wanted to help build the sandcastle too! So, cautiously he scooted over closer to the Kenna girl. "My name's Kyo," he blurted out. When he got no reaction from the girl he crossed his arms and pouted. Then looking over at the castle again he gave in, "Kenna, can I…canIplaywithyou?"

Because he rushed the last part she barley managed to hear it. Looking up, she smiled at Kyo and said, "Of course!" With that said she moved over to make room for her new friend.

Kyo silently sunk down next to his comrade. He picked up a neglected red shovel and started working on the partially done castle. This brought on a very strong sensation of déjà vu, but why?

_Dad used to make castles with me all the time…_ Kyo gloomily thought. _He used to play catch with me, and wrestle, and…and taught me kendo…and…and…_before he could finish that thought a tear slipped down his face and his nose had become increasingly runny. _Stupid emotions! You have to come now of all times. When I'm with a GIRL! Any boy's sworn enemy._

That train of thinking was quickly interrupted by a gentle voice to his right, "Kyo? Are you okay?" He looked down into the most concerned, violet eyes he had ever seen.

"Of course I am, Stupid!" he responded haughtily, "Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, straightening his posture. _There! That will show her not to butt into a boy's business._

"I don't know, you tell me," she asked innocently. Moving closer to Kyo she sat beside him and wiped away a tear.

Surprised that she had so simply avoided his insults he just stared at her, wide-eyed as more tears slipped through his barriers. Then suddenly, his sorrow took its full effect and he cried out, "My father DIIIIIED!" Feeling like a massive weight has settled on his shoulders, he drooped his head shamefully and let all of his feelings flow out through his tears.

Startled from his sudden outburst, Kenna just sat there for a moment and watched Kyo with saddened eyes. Then, wanting to help her fallen friend, she enthusiastically wrapped her arms around him and gave him the biggest hug her small arms could manage. "All the bad stuff will go away. You'll see!" Kenna said, soothing the shaken Kyo, all the while keeping her bright demeanor.

Choking back another set of waterworks, Kyo gave her an angry and disbelieving stare. "How could things get better! How could all the 'bad things' go away! MY DAD'S GONE!"

Kenna just sat there and nodded her head, "It will. You'll see!"

Sniff sniff. "And how can you be so happy all the time! My life will never be the same. Now is not the time for smiles!" Kyo yelled, pointing a finger at the redhead to emphasize his statement.

"I'm not happy, I'm cheerful!" she corrected with a toothy grin.

"Huh?"

Kenna just sighed. It looked like she would have to explain. "I'm not happy. I'm cheerful. There's a difference. A happy woman has no cares at all. A cheerful woman has cares but has learned how to deal with them," she stated smartly (1).

"How do you know all these things?" he asked, skeptically, while wiping away the last remnants of the tears.

"Shishou!"(2) Kenna answered.

"Shishou…?"

"Yep! Shishou, Auntie Hoshiko," she then turned around and pointed to a business-like lady on a nearby bench, filling out forms on top of a black, leather briefcase.

"Oh," was all that Kyo managed to say. How could he have totally overlooked the lady on the bench? She looked so... out of place in a playground.

"Anyways, things will get better. They always do!" Kenna reaffirmed, going back to the subject.

"How do you know!" Kyo shot back.

"Both my mama and papa died," said Kenna, never losing her light tone of voice. And for the first time in his five years of life, Kyo was stunned speechless. "But Shishou took me in and now everything is all better!" she told the silent Kyo, outstretching her arms and wiggling her fingers, showing how cheerful she was. "I miss my papa a lot too. But Shishou says that he is in a better place now, and that I need to remember all of the nice memories I have of him."

"My daddy is in a better place?" Kyo asked shyly, slowly coming out of his shocked daze.

"That's what my auntie Hoshiko says," Kenna replied, nodding her head up and down so that her straight hair bobbed around her shoulder blades. "And she's a lawyer so she's NEVER wrong. Or at least that's what she says," she added, giggling.

"Well, I guess that makes me feel a little better," Kyo admitted softly, smiling at the girl.

Smiling in return Kenna turned toward her half-built sand castle. "Good. Now let's finish our castle." She then looked over the Kyo and bubbly said, "Then when we're done, we can make little people to go inside. Tee hee." Picking up one of the two shovels, she immediately got to work on her masterpiece.

Scrambling over next to Kenna, Kyo grabbed the second shovel and helped Kenna with the moat. _Maybe I was wrong about girls,_ he thought, _Sometimes they can be fun. Besides, I don't think Kenna has any cooties._ Then, an idea came to mind. "Hey Kenna."

"Yeah."

"I bet you don't know what kendo is."

"I do too!" Kenna retorted defensively.

"Nah uh!"

"Yeah huh! It's a sport that uses wooden swords."

Kyo's face fell. He once again couldn't outsmart her.

"See, I told you that I knew what kendo was," she mocked, sticking her tongue out at the black-haired menace.

"Well I bet I could still beat you at it!"

"Not a chance."

"Grrr. Want to bet!"

"Yep!"

Seemingly pulling a bokken out of midair, Kyo brought it down, thwacking Kenna's head dead center. (3)

"OWWWW! What did you do that for!" complained a very wound up Kenna.

"You said that you wanted to bet," commented Kyo smugly.

"But I wasn't armed! You aren't supposed to attack an unarmed opponent!"

"So?"

"Grrr…" with the last comment Kenna's face turned a shade of red that matched her hair. Being at the end of her ropes she got up and stared daggers at the source of her annoyance.

Shivering, Kyo slowly stood up. Kenna's eyes had suddenly turned a very lethal amber color, radiating pure, wholesome fury. He didn't know that a person's eyes could do that, but judging by the look that he was receiving, he guessed that it wasn't a good thing. Kyo started to back away slowly from the enraged girl.

"Kyo, where are you going?" Kenna asked a little too sweetly.

"Nowhere," he replied nervously; a giant sweat drop visible on his head.

"Oh really…" she drawled. Then, taking one step towards him, Kyo went sprinting through the park, Kenna fast at his heels. Despite her size, Kenna had a good pair of legs and knew exactly how to use them.

Unnoticed by the children, Hoshiko had been watching the whole exchange between the two; from beginning to end. _Hmm…_Hoshiko mused, _my baka deshi is actually useful for something. _(4)_ She seems to have a knack for knowing just the right words to say. Too bad she doesn't act this intelligent at home._ She looked up to see Kenna and Kyo now in the grass, rolling, or more like wrestling, with laughter. _Now if only she would run that fast during training…_

"Kyo, there you are!" came a sudden outburst from the sidewalk bordering the park. A woman with long ebony hair, porcelain-colored skin and swollen eyes came running off the cement pathway and embraced the small boy. Judging by the similarities between the two, Hoshiko concluded that she was Kyo's mother. "I've been looking everywhere for you! I was so worried! Have you been here the whole time?"

Struggling to get away from his mother's smothering clutches Kyo pushed away and whined, "Yes Mom, I've been right here. I'm fiiiiine. Now let me gooooo, I want to go play with Kenna."

"Who's Kenna?" Kyo's mom, Ms. Kamiya, asked her son in honest bewilderment.

"I'm Kenna," Kenna chirped from Kyo's side. "Me and Kyo are friends."

"Oh Kyo, you made a new friend? That's wonderful dear!" Ms. Kamiya cooed.

"MOOOM! You're embarrassing me!" said a brightly blushing Kyo. To his side, Kenna was trying desperately to hold back her teasing laughter.

"I'm sorry Kyo, but we have to go home now. It's getting late, it's already six-thirty."

"But Mom!"

"We can come back tomorrow dear. But we need to get home or else we'll be caught in the dark."

"Okay, fine," Kyo pouted. Spinning around to Kenna he asked her hopefully, "Could you come back tomorrow?"

"Sure! I'll finish all of my training real early so Shishou will have time to bring me here," confirmed Kenna, her cheerful smile placed cutely on her face. Looking up at Ms. Kamiya, Kenna put on an irresistible look and pleaded, "But before Kyo goes can we take a picture together? Please? My auntie just got a new camera and she said that she would take one picture for me."

"All right," Kyo's mom agreed. "But make it quick."

Kenna and Kyo raced over the Hoshiko and Kenna yanked on her skirt. "Shishou, can you take a picture of us? Please?" the petite girl asked.

Looking up from her paper work, Hoshiko looked at Kyo and Kenna. The double threats, K squared. "Okay, but only because you asked so politely." Digging it out of her purse, Hoshiko turned on the shiny digital camera and centered it on the pair. "Smile you two." Click. "The deed has been done." Placing the silver camera back into its place, she started gathering up her paperwork. "Kenna, go get your things. We should get going too."

"Okay," said Kenna obediently. Moving towards the sandbox she smiled and waved at Kyo, "Bye Kyo! I'll see you tomorrow!"

"'Kay, bye!" he hollered back, joining his mom on the sidewalk.

"I'm glad that you're feeling better Kyo," Ms. Kamiya said, a tint of sadness lacing her words at the memory of the earlier events.

"Yeah Mom, me too." He then took his mother's outstretched hand and walked across the street, making his way back to the apartments they both called home.

-o-o-o-

"Hey Kenna?"

"Yeah."

"How long as it been since we met? I forgot."

"Three months, and we see each other every day right here at the park."

"I know THAT!"

"Kay, just making sure, hee hee," Kenna said, giggling slightly.

The now best of buddies were calmly lying underneath a thick tree, located in the middle of the park, looking up at the sky through the massive foliage. The sun was glimmering through the leaves, shining on their youthful faces, making the day pleasantly warm. Kyo and Kenna both had popsicles and were licking them casually, trying to catch all of the drips before they fell on their faces.

"Kenna?"

"Hmm?" she answered, not taking her attention off her popsicle.

"Why is the sky blue?"

"What?" she asked, bewildered by the totally 'out-of-the-blue' question.

"Why. Is. The. Sky. Blue?" Kyo repeated making sure that she heard every word clearly.

"I don't know," she answered. Then asking him a question in return she asked, "Where do babies come from?"

"My MOMMY said that the stork brings babies to their families," he said proudly. _Ha! I know more than Kenna. I know more than Kenna!_ He chanted happily in his head.

"Well my SHISHOU said that my MAMA made me!" Kenna challenged.

"Well storks are cooler than mommies!"

"How do you know!"

"I don't know. YOU should know, you know everything!" he tossed back cockily.

"I do not! I just know more than you," she said.

"Exactly!" he exclaimed.

Kenna raised her eyebrow and turned to face the boy, "Kyo…that made no sense."

"It did too!" he defended.

"Nah Huh!" she shot back.

"Yeah it did!"

"Whatever. You're weird," she concluded.

"So?" he 'oh-so-intelligently' replied. And once again, she raised her eyebrow and turned to give him a blank stare that clearly stated, 'you're pathetic.'

After a moment of silence between the two, Kyo finally spoke up and asked, again, another question.

"Kenna?"

"Whaaat?" she answered, exasperated.

"Are moms girls?"

Kenna crumpled her faced up in thought and finished her popsicle. That was a good question; she had to really THINK about that one. She looked up into the sky for a couple of seconds before she hesitantly answered, "I don't know."

Shrugging off her reply, Kyo just kept licking his ice pop. That was one of the great mysteries of the world that would have to wait to be answered for another day.

"Kenna, could you come here please?" Hoshiko called from across the grassy field, gently sliding her cell phone into one of her various suit pockets.

"Coming," Kenna complied, pushing herself off of the cushy grass and prancing over to her aunt's side.

Curious, Kyo sat up to watch the two girls' conversation, while he managed to take the last bite of his popsicle. It was amazing how different the two in question were. Kenna was a petite girl with red hair, and violet eyes that radiated emotion. With everything she did, Kenna had a smile on and a bounce in her step. Kenna's aunt, Hoshiko, on the other hand was almost the exact opposite. She was very tall for a woman; had silky, thick, black hair that reached her waist; and had dark brown, almost black eyes that revealed none of her thoughts. Hoshiko was very professional and always liked to do things in an orderly manner. _I wonder how those two can live in the same house?_ Kyo thought for a second.

Just then, Kyo was pulled out of his thoughts by a screech from Kenna, "WHAT! No! Why! I DON'T WANT TO!" Kenna had large, unbelieving eyes pointed at Hoshiko, who was kneeling down so that she was eye-level with the small girl. Kenna's purple orbs looked as if they were going to leak tears at any moment. Her mouth was hanging open and her whole body sagged in obvious disapproval and shock. Meanwhile, her aunt continued to talk, completely keeping her cool composure. If only he could hear what they were saying! Kenna was never sad, so whatever her aunt was saying must be serious.

Their chat lasted for a couple more minutes until Hoshiko handed Kenna a shiny piece of paper with something written on the back. Slowly, Kenna turned away from her guardian and walked over to Kyo, dragging her feet the all the while.

When she finally got to him, her face was flushed and had wet trails running down her cheeks. "Kyo," she addressed him disheartened.

"Yeah," he answered, concern evident in his reply.

"I…I…Shishou sniff…Shishou says that we have to move back to Kyoto," she choked out; new tears rolling down her face. She brought her hand up uselessly to brush away the pesky tears, only to give up when more came right behind the last ones.

"Wha…What? Why!" Kyo demanded, his own voice cracking.

"Shishou says that this was only a long business trip," explained Kenna, her head drooped so her hair covered her face. Sniff "We were going to go back to Kyoto sometime, it was just later than Shishou expected."

"But…but, you can still come back to play right?" Kyo asked hopefully. Kenna just shook her head, her fiery hair listlessly falling around her face. Seeing her answer, Kyo yelled angrily, "Why not!"

"Kyoto is too far away, Shishou won't bring me back here unless it is for another business trip," she said, "And that's not very often," she added dully as an afterthought.

"But…but…" Kyo couldn't find any words to express this unexpected news. Just when his world finally started to look up, fate had to show up and shoot it down again. If Kenna's aunt wouldn't bring her back to visit, that meant that he would probably never see her again.

"Kenna, hurry up and say goodbye to your friend," commanded Hoshiko, "we need to catch the three o'clock train."

"Yes, Shishou," Kenna shouted back emotionless. She then looked up at Kyo and stared into his eyes. Giving him a big hug she said, "Thanks for being my best friend, Kyo. I'll miss you."

Surprised that she had hugged him he stood still for a moment, but eventually hugged her back, trying to suppress his tears. "You're welcome," he blubbered out. "You're my best friend too. But I bet I'll miss you more."

"Nah uh!" she argued.

"Yeah huh," he happily answered in their usual manner.

They then untangled themselves from each other and Kenna handed him the paper that her aunt had given her. "Bye Kyo," she said and tried to give him a smile, but pathetically failed.

"Bye Kenna," he answered, knowing that this would be that last time he would ever see her.

With his closure, Kenna turned away and scurried over to her aunt.

After she was halfway to Hoshiko, Kyo looked down at the paper she had given him and sadly smiled. It was the picture they had taken the first day they met. He took a long hard look at the picture then looked up at the retreating forms of Kenna and Hoshiko. "I'll never forget you Kenna," he whispered to himself and then started walking in the opposite direction as Kenna, where his mom would be waiting to take him home.

-o-o-o-

Kenna paced at Hoshiko's side, staring holes into the grass under her feet. Slightly turning her head to the side she spotted the sandbox where she and Kyo first met. Giving a sad smile, she thought, _I'll never forget you Kyo_, and for a moment, she swore she could see her and Kyo playing in the sandbox like they did three months ago. Shaking her head, she looked back in front of her and trotted next to her Shishou's side. They were going to have to walk fast if they were going to catch the three o'clock train.

-IV-IV-IV-IV-IV-

1. This quote is by Beverly Sills.

2. 'Shishou' means 'master' in Japanese. It is what Kenshin calls Hiko.

3. A bokken is a practice sword made out of bamboo.

4. 'baka deshi' is a nickname that Hiko calls Kenshin. In Japanese it means something along the lines of 'idiot apprentice' or 'idiot pupil.'

_Hey there everyone! So, how did you like this chapter? Tell me all about it (Hint, hint, review)! I was struck with inspiration and wrote this chapter extra fast (I just kinda...forgot to update...laughs nervously he he...oops). Unfortunately for me it was during a time where I had lot of homework (sarcastically inspiration comes at the best of times) so I had to really rush with my work (hee hee, bad me). Sigh I feel sorry for Evlo and darksaphire. I type so fast that I have SO many mistakes on my rough draft that it is embarrassing. Good thing that they are such awesome friends! I don't think anybody else would do all that correcting for me (hee hee). Oh yeah, by the way, Evlo and I are taking a trip to Japan! So...there won't be much writing going on for a while. I'M SORRY! So, you'll have to wait a while for the next update. Meesa is sorry. Well, once again I hope that you enjoyed this chapter of S.C.S.U. Thank You, thank you, thank you and more thank you's to all who reviewed! It is very much appreciated!Until next time…_


	5. Odd Phrases and Old Friendships

Disclaimer: Love-Lee Light Maiden does not own any characters from Rurouni Kenshin. All Rurouni Kenshin characters rightfully belong to their creator, Nobuhiro Watsuki.

**Second Chance Screw-up**

By, Love-Lee Light Maiden

Edited by: Hoshiko Shinomori  
Beta Reader: darksaphire & rurouni kitsune

**Chapter 5: _Odd Phrases and Old Friendships_**

"…" indicates talking  
…_italics_… indicates thoughts  
blah blah blah indicates sounds  
-o-o-o- indicates change in scenery

-V-V-V-V-V-

_Nothing is as frustrating as arguing with someone who knows what he's talking about  
- Sam Ewing_

_Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.  
__- Robert Frost_

-V-V-V-V-V-

**From the last Chapter:**

_After she was halfway to Hoshiko, Kyo looked down at the paper she had given him and sadly smiled. It was the picture they had taken the first day they met. He took a long hard look at the picture then looked up at the retreating forms of Kenna and Hoshiko. "I'll never forget you Kenna," he whispered to himself and then started walking in the opposite direction as Kenna, toward his gray, dreary apartment building._

_-o-o-o-_

_Kenna paced at Hoshiko's side, staring holes into the grass under her feet. Slightly turning her head to the side she spotted the sandbox where she and Kyo first met. Giving a smile that did not reach her eyes, she thought, 'I'll never forget you Kyo,' and for a moment, she swore she could see her and Kyo playing in the sandbox like they did two months ago. Shaking her head, she looked back in front of her and trotted next to her Shishou's side. They were going to have to walk fast if they were going to catch the three o'clock train._

-V-V-V-V-V-

-o-o-o- Flashback -o-o-o-

Carbon-black shadows made their way up and down the walls of the abandoned warehouse. Slicing at each other with quicksilver blades, only the sound of colliding steel could be heard. The only source of light was the moon, shining in from the old skylight window. But the moon taunted the battling shadows, giving enough light to create the shadows, but not to see what or who was making them. Even in this eerie glow, the light illuminated the bloodstains on the walls and floors of the tattered building. The contours of shock-still spectators edged around one side of the warehouse, their eyes trying to follow the shadows' movements.

Suddenly, one of the shadows gave out a cry and smashed into the brightened floor with a sickening thud, smearing more blood on the cool, gray concrete. The man's black spiky hair gleamed with sweat and the bleeding slash marks were all too obvious on his pale skin. Turquoise eyes fell to a close as his body became limp and his mind unconscious. The halo of moonlight around him accentuated his deadly stillness, causing some of the spectators to move to his aid.

The victor stayed in the shadows, knowing fully well what they had done and that the man was in fact still alive. Turning, the shadowy form walked away, intending to leave this all behind.

"How dare you do this…" seethed one of the unconscious man's aides. The shadow stopped and looked back, eyes penetrating through the misty blackness and focusing in on the owner of the voice. Looking up, the aide gritted his teeth and rose to his full height. With eyes full of disgust he spat out, "How dare you betray us? How DARE you do this to our, noYOUR leader?"

Unfazed, the shadow stood there, never coming out of the darkness. Sharp eyes blinking it replied, "I'm not your, or his, puppet anymore. That man is no leader. He got what he deserved." With that, the form turned and continued to walk towards the exit.

"You'll pay for this! You understand me! You'll fucking pay for this! We'll make sure of that!" But even though the shadow heard his hatred filled words, it did not stop or hesitate to continue forward and out of the warehouse doors into the inky night.

-o-o-o- End of Flashback -o-o-o-

"Gooooooooood Morning, Tokyo! How are ya'll doin' today? I'm Takasheige here with your local broadcas--" thump . _I neeeeeeeed more sleep…_

…

"…today we are having little traffic problems, but you might want to watch out for the--" tap tap tap click _Take that! Who ever invented the 'off' button was a genius. Now, where was I? Oh yes, sleeeeeeeep… _

…

"Kyo?"

"Hhhhnnnnnnnnn…"

"Kyo, honey, are you still asleep?"

"Nnnnnnnnnnnn…"

"Kyo! You're going to be late for school, it's already a quarter to eight!"

"WHAT? Mom, why didn't you tell me?" yelled the black-haired blur running frantically around the house, otherwise known as Kyo Kamiya.

"I thought I just told you honey," called back his mother, Sakura Kamiya calmly standing in the hallway with a basket of laundry in her hands. Sigh "What would that boy do without me?" she murmured to herself. This had become a once a week habit that she had grown accustomed to. Unfortunately, her son had not.

"I meant SOONER Mom! Uggghhh! Where is my bag?" His blue eyes scanned his room, looking for his things. He wiped his face, brushing away messy bangs falling into his line of sight, obscuring his vision.

"On the counter dear."

"Thanks Mom!" Grabbing his backpack full of his school necessities, he slung it over his shoulder and made his way to the door. "Gotta run, bye!" called the stressed teen as placed one foot out the now opened door.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Miss. Kamiya said, stopping Kyo in his tracks. Turning on his heels, the five-foot-three boy ran to his mother's side, gave her a quick peck on the cheek, murmured a 'love you,' and dashed out the door, slamming it shut in his hurry.

Shaking her head, Ms. Kamiya continued plucking her son's dirty clothes from his floor, depositing them in her basket. "Tsk, tsk. When will he ever learn?"

-o-o-o-

"Miss Himura, please tell me again why you are attending a PUBLIC school. You've been taught at a private school for years, what made you change your mind? Surely you can't believe that you would get a better education HERE than at a private school," babbled the driver of the sleek black car. Smoothly gliding the vehicle down the road, she looked back to her patron only to find the dark window separating the car almost completely shut, only rolled down enough for conversation. "Miss?" she asked when the passenger did not respond. Shaken out of her dazed state, the young mistress distractedly pulled her attention away from the trees lining the street.

"Sorry Tae, what was that?" she said returning her eyes to the lively green trees.

"I swear Miss, you can be sharp as a blade, but at times dull as a wooden bat."

"Hnn…"

"…Is something on your mind Miss?" Tae ventured with a worried tone. She rounded the car around a corner and looked into the rearview mirror, keeping an eye on the girl.

"No, it's nothing Tae," absent-mindedly returned the girl, her eyes focusing on the park they just passed.

"Alright Miss, if you say so."

-o-o-o-

_Dang! Why did I have to wake up so late?WHAAAA! I need to hurry!_ Kyo thought as he ran up the stairs leading to the school. At the time, his legs and mind were running at equally fast paces. He looked down at his watch to see if he had any extra time to stop at his locker before jetting to class. _7:59, hey that's not too bad…wait…7:59! I only got a minute left!_ He immediately pumped his legs into overdrive and made a mad dash to his first period class, which was half way across the school. Luckily for him, there were no obstacles in his way, so he would use his speed to its full advantage. Rounding the last corner he skidded to a halt right outside the classroom door. Turning the handle, he stepped into the room as the bell rang, his heavy breathing accompanied by the click of the closing door drawing the attention of the rest of the class.

"Well, well Mr. Kamiya, it's very kind of you to join us," drawled the teacher, never taking her eyes off of a paper on her desk. "Would you mind taking your seat so that I can take role?"

"Of course Mrs. Fujita (1)," dully returned Kyo. _Great. I was almost late; I'm already having a bad day and now Mrs. Fujita seems to have it in for me. _Kyo strode and lowered himself into his desk, only to be greeted by a kick under the seat. _Now what?_ With a suppressed groan, he turned around to glare at his so-called best friend, only to be on the receiving end of his signature 'melt-any-woman's-heart' grin. Hardening his glare he just looked at the boy, hoping to wipe the smile off his face, and failing miserably. "What do you want now, Sano?" he asked testily.

Leaning his bulky frame forward Sano's grin only intensified. "You were almost late again, huh?" he jabbed, successfully annoying his friend. Giving off a light chuckle he raked his fingers through his mop of long spiky hair and continued, "What was it this time?"

"Alarm."

"Again?" Sano said, faking inscrutability. "Man, you really have a problem with that don't you?" Kyo just rolled his eyes; he had better things to do than to hear his friend babble on about him not being a morning person. "But man I wish I had your luck. Even though you seem to wake up late almost every morning, you always come to class RIGHT before the bell rings. How do you do it?" inquired Sano. "I mean, every time I wake up late, I just end up being tardy, but YOU--"

"Sanosuke, don't you have anything better to talk about?" Kyo cut him off, his annoyance rising by the second.

Sano looked at him with a truly innocent and clueless look and replied, "No."

"Grrrr…WHAA!" spinning around in his desk, Kyo immediately faced away from his friend for fear of losing his temper completely. So, instead of whacking his so-called friend upside the head with the nearest hard object, or his always convenient bokken, he decided to focus all his anger on glaring a hole through the blackboard. This, plus the constant drumming of his fingers on the hard desktop seemed to help push his temper back into the depths of his mind. Luckily, Sano had seemingly let the subject drop, which helped immensely. After a couple of minutes Kyo was almost feeling normal, or at least as normal as you can feel with such a bad morning, until… thump

Grabbing the edge of his desk in a death grip, Kyo sat for a second to stop his trembling irritation. With painstakingly slow movements, he cranked his head around to Sanosuke and gave him the most evil stare he could muster. Through gritted teeth he managed to say, "WHAT SANO?"

Being the oblivious dolt as always, the stocky, spiky haired teen gave his friend a questioning look before saying, "Man…what crawled up your ass and died?"

Now usually, Kyo would have laughed at this sudden comment. Sano was Sano, and this comment proved it. But, being in the 'condition' that he was in; Kyo did the next best thing.

"SANOSSSUUUUUUKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEE!" and with that he pulled his bokken out of thin air. Swinging it down he happily anticipated the connection of bamboo practice sword with hollow, brainless head. But unfortunately for Kyo, he was stopped mere centimeters away from his goal by a voice that made shivers run down his spine.

"MR. KAMIYA!"

Feeling like a deer caught in headlights he slowly turned his head toward his teacher giving her the best "don't-hurt-me-I'm-an-angel" look he could manage. Sweat trickling down his neck, his throat seemed suddenly dry as he squeaked out, "Yes, Mrs. Fujita?"

"Twenty minutes after-school detention for disrupting my class," she ordered. Shaking her head she continued, "Really Kyo, can't I even take attendance without being disturbed?"

"TWENTY MINUTES! But Mrs. Fujita I have Kendo club! I can't be late!" he pleaded, trying to somehow persuade the teacher to lessen the punishment. "And why don't you give SANO detention?" Kyo argued, now jabbing a finger at his troublesome friend, "HE DID MORE TALKING THAN I DID!"

"Kyo, I'm not arguing with you—I'm telling you, you have twenty minutes of detention," (2) scolded Mrs. Fujita. "And because Kyo," the teacher calmly answered, "I expect this kind of behavior out of Sagara. You on the other hand still have some sanity left in you and should know better." Walking back to the chalkboard she picked up a piece of chalk and wrote some numbers down on the dark surface. Sitting back down in her desk she started typing on her computer, "Finish up any work you didn't complete yesterday, then read chapters eleven and twelve. I will expect all of the chapter review questions to be done by the beginning of class tomorrow. I would advise you to start working now if you want ANY extra time at the end of class. I will allow you to work with partners as long as it stays quiet in here. Once you become too loud it will be each man and woman for themselves. Understood? Begin."

Immediately after she finished her sentence desks were moved and textbooks flipped open, everybody wanting to work with a partner to finish faster. Thus, this was how Sano's seat ended up next to a very peeved Kyo's. "Hey, sorry about that back there. I guess Mrs. Fujita is havin' a bad day." This was followed by a semi-guilty look and an apologetic smile. Kyo graced Sanosuke with a deadpan stare and sighed, not bothering to say anything, figuring it was futile to try and change the Sano.

_Que sera sera _(3)Fishing out his half completed work from the day before he was about to dig in to the 'oh-so-interesting' facts of Japanese history when a piece of paper was stuffed under his nose.

"Just copy mine," muttered Sano. Gladly accepting the peace offering, Kyo quickly skimmed over the sheet, copying the answers with a couple moderations so that the teacher wouldn't catch them.

"So…" Sano ventured, unsure if he was walking on stable ground, "Have you heard the news?"

"What news?" Kyo asked, unenthused.

"Ha! So you haven't heard?" exclaimed Sano, loud enough to make Kyo wince, but not enough for the teacher to notice.

The charcoal-haired teen barely looked up from his paper, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear and clearly stating without words, 'duh.' Figuring he was already in enough trouble as it was –and it couldn't get any worse from his prospective- he just played along and listened halfheartedly to his friend's gossip.

"Well," continued Sano, lowering his voice to an almost whisper, "I heard that we're getting a new transfer student tomorrow. And apparently, she's a knockout –A REDHEAD!" Being the 'ladies man' that he was, Sano's eyes were brimming with excitement and Kyo could tell he was already scheming his first move on the girl. "But, I heard that she was scoping out the school today, checkin' out all of the classes and junk. Man, I hope she comes to one of our classes snicker if you know what I mean," he finished tossing Kyo a wink and mischievous smile.

_Poor girl_ was all that ran through Kyo's mind as he rolled his eyes, instead saying, "Thanks for the 'useful' information Sano." In reality girls were the last things on his mind right now. How he was going to manage getting to Kendo Club on time with his recent detention, seemed to be a more important topic.

"Anytime buddy, anytime," happily replied Sano, feeling he had done a good deed. Then, a miracle upon miracles happened, Sano started doing the assignment! _Wow, I never thought I'd see the day…_ thought an amazed Kyo, _But then again, he's just probably trying to impress the new girl in case she walks in the room_. Kyo sighed and turned back to his own work, leaving his friend to his petty plotting and studying. _This is going to be a LONG day…_

-o-o-o-

"FOOD. FOOOOOD. I NEEED foooooood…"

"Okay Kyo, I get the point."

"But Sano, I'm so HUUUNGRY!" After two grueling eighty-minute classes and a mighty amount of brainpower drainage, Kyo's stomach was begging and pleading to be fed, and it wasn't afraid to announce it to the world. grumble gurgle gurgle Standing in the long lunch line was torturous, especially since Kyo had nixed breakfast. The warm and scrumptious aromas from the kitchen drifted under his nose, tantalizing his taste buds to no end. Taking a long sniff of the air he sighed dreamily and looked adoringly to the serving counter. "Sano, do you smell that? FOOD! Delicious FOOOOD."

Sano gave him a look of total shock and mortification. "Man, are…are you okay? You just called the schools lunch 'delicious.' Maybe you're sick…" The only response he got out of the focused teen was a demanding growl from his gut.

"He must be, to call THAT stuff delicious," popped in a girly voice from behind. With that the girl proceeded to reach up and put the back to her hand to Kyo's forehead, bright green eyes locking onto deep blue ones. "Nope, nothin'. Maybe he's finally snapped."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Sano said clucking his tongue and shaking his head, "And out of all of us I thought he would be the last to go. What a shame…"

"I know," agreed the girl shaking her head so that her black, glossy, thigh-length braid swung around. "Hey, wait a minute!" yelled the girl, immediately taking offense, "What's THAT supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all…Weasel girl," answered Sanosuke, a cocky smile plastered on his lips.

"Grrr…YOU STUPID, IDIOT, ROOSTER-HEAD! AND IT'S NOT WEASEL, IT'S MI-SAO!" roared a very angery Misao, gabbing hold of the taller boy's red head-bandana. The girl stood only 4' 11" and didn't seem like she posed as much of a threat, but the fire in her eyes suggested otherwise.

"I'LL CALL YOU MISAO WHEN YOU START CALLING ME SANOSUKE!" shot back an equally irritated Sano, yanking his head back to get out of her clutches.

"NOT IN A MILLION YEARS, BUDDY!"

"FIINE!"

"FINE!" And thus, their argument ended, each side glaring at the other in a most menacing way.

"FOOOOOD!" shouted an overjoyed Kyo grabbing a lunch tray filled with food, paying and bee-lining to their usual table. Both glares were forgotten, instead replaced by sweatdrops and sympathetic looks. Grabbing their own trays of what was supposed to be curry, the two made their way over to their designated places.

Kyo shoveled his food into his mouth like there was no tomorrow, savoring every mouth-watering morsel. Sanosuke and Misao slowly ate their food sparring the occasional glance at their friend.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps stopped near the trio and a tall shadow loomed over them. From the towering figure an emotionless voice questioned, "Kamiya…what are you doing?"

All three stopped their ministrations and turned to gaze at the lingering woman. Ice blue eyes on a pale-skinned face, framed with tapered silk-black hair watched Kyo with untraceable feeling. Finely groomed eyebrows and pink lips gave no indication to what the girl was thinking. Kyo just obliviously smiled at the stoic girl, mouth full of food and replied, "Uhh…I'm…"

"SHIZUKA-SAMA!" excitedly exclaimed a starry-eyed Misao, looking admirably at the taller female. Pushing Sano farther down the table, along with his food, she opened a spot for her idol to sit down. Patting the now 'conveniently' empty seat next to her she offered it to Shizuka, "Here sit down, I doubt you want to be standing all day." Taking the place, the girl silently sat down, putting her sack-lunch on the table and lifting her off-white and yellow collared trench coat from underneath her.

"What do you want Shinomori?" demanded Sanosuke, giving the girl next to him a glare. The answer he got was a blank stare; she then looked back at Kyo, who had turned back to chow down on his food, and slowly bit into her homemade sushi roll.

"You never answered my question Kyo," pointed out Shizuka, never taking her cold eyes off Kyo as she finished off the sushi roll between her chopsticks.

Not even stopping his rampage, Kyo, mouth still full of cafeteria gourmet, answered, "Eating."

"That much is obvious. But why are you in such a hurry to inhale…that?"

"I missed breakfast, and I had history with Mrs. Fujita," was Kyo's rapid explanation as he engulfed his meal. Nodding her head in understanding Shizuka paced herself and quietly ate her lunch.

Throughout the whole exchange Sano had been giving Shizuka a very reproachful look. "What are YOU doing here Shinomori?" he asked with evident contempt. "Aren't you one of the 'Populars?' Shouldn't you be sitting with your crew of 'better-than-thous?' In case you haven't noticed, you're at the wrong table." Sano was very protective over the few friends he had, and even though Shizuka was classified as more of a 'mysterious loner' than a 'popular person' he still didn't trust her. Anyone who sat at a table with the popular and obnoxious 'Jocks, Cheerleaders and Co.' could not be easily trusted, even if she mostly kept to herself.

"Sano! How could you--?" yelled an outraged Misao.

Sano cut her off and continued, "Just answer the question Shinomori."

Bone-chilling silence swept over the table, even getting Kyo to stop gorging himself. All eyes moved from Sano to rest on Shizuka Shinomori as she stopped eating, chopsticks poised in midair. Frosted and chilled twin orbs revolved to stop and gaze at Sano, sending shivers down any normal person's spine. "You have no right telling me where to place myself, Sagara. The last I heard, I was free to sit wherever I please."

"You must have a reason Shinomori," slowly retorted Sanosuke.

Still staring at the brawly gangster, Shizuka let the tension swell for a few hostile moments before looking away, proceeding to pick up her chopsticks.

"SHIZUKA…" Sano threatened through gritted teeth, cracking his knuckles to punctuate his intent.

"Don't hold your breath Sagara, I didn't come here to start something," calmly stated Shizuka. "Misao said she wanted conformation on the gossip that's been going around about the new girl." Looking straight into the brunette's chocolate eyes she concluded, "So, I come bearing proverbial gifts, in the form of information, NOT a fight." Facing back to her bento box, she pulled out some dried squid and a can of green tea; her feathered hair falling around her high cheekbones and well-defined jaw, "Satisfied?"

Silence smothered the trio in an almost unbreakable grip. Kyo slowly started to eat again, albeit at a much slower speed; Misao blinked a few times as if coming from a daze; and Sanosuke had eyes rounder and larger than saucepans and a gaping mouth that perfectly reflected his shock. He had never heard Shizuka utter so many words at once, let alone insulting ones directed towards him. And even more shocking was that he was actually INTERESTED in the information she was giving them, or more specifically Misao.

The said person, coming out of her reverie slightly shook her head and rounded on Sano. "See idiot ROOSTER-HEAD! She DID have a reason for coming over here! But even if she didn't she could sit here anyway because she doesn't need a ROOSTER-HEAD like YOU bossing her around!" Glaring daggers at the slack-jawed thug Misao 'hmph'ed, crossed her arms over her chest and turned around to Shizuka. "Sorry to trouble you Shizuka-sama," regretfully started Misao, "SOME PEOPLE are just not as accepting as others," she ended, pointedly hinting that Sano was the 'SOME PEOPLE.'

Sipping at her can of green tea Shizuka answered indifferently, "You are not to blame, Misao. Now, shall we proceed with the information?"

Hearing this Misao immediately perked up and looked dazzlingly up at the second-year student (4). "Of course! Now where should we start? Hmm…" the short girl contemplated this for a moment, pursing her lips and tapping her chin before she decided, "Let's start with the basics. First of all, is she really a 'she?'"

"Yes, it is a girl," verified Shizuka, nodding her head.

"Okay! She IS a female, check. Next Question:" continued Misao, with a mouth crammed with rice, happy that they were making progress. "What does she look like? Does she REEAALLY have red hair?" she asked, skepticism edging each word of the gossip.

"The only information that I have received was that she indeed had red hair and was quite short, standing around five-foot-two."

"You mean you haven't seen her?" burst out Sanosuke. This was a complete surprise. Shizuka usually had the low-down on everyone and everything at anytime. Rumors said that her and Misao's families had ninja ancestry, although to this day they had still yet to be proven. To hear that she hadn't even MET this mystery girl was shocking. "How can you know so much about her when you haven't even MET her?"

"I have my sources, Sagara," replied Shizuka, calm as ever.

"So…you don't have any more information on this girl?" Misao ventured, a little disappointed.

"Appearance-wise, no. Academically, yes," returned Shizuka, using as few words as possible while gathering up her trash.

_Yes! I knew there was more than what Shizuka was letting on. She would NEVER let me down._ Inside her mind, Misao was jumping for joy that she could learn more about this interesting specimen, but on the outside all she said was, "Okay, shoot," accompanied with a smile.

Placing her garbage in the bin next to the table she turned back and recited, "She is a second-year student and holds a 3.8 GPA, her highest records being in Physical Education and History. She was the captain of her former schools Kendo club, helping her school receive three prefecture championships and one national title. Her former school was a prestigious private school in Kyoto called--"

"SHE WAS THE CAPTION OF THE FUJIMORA TEAM?" loudly interrupted Kyo, his thoughts now not solely being on this stomach.

"Indeed."

"Hey Kyo, aren't those the guys that beat our butts at finals every year?" flippantly asked Sanosuke.

"YES!" angrily shouted Kyo, slamming his hand down on the table. Their best member had faced her off last year and she had wiped the mats clean with him. Even though he had never seen her face, because of the protected mask, he held a sour grudge against her.

"So she hot, she's got brains AND can kick our asses at kendo," summed up Sano. "Not that I'm complaining or anything but…why the hell would she want to go HERE?" he questioned in a voice thick with confusion and sarcasm.

"Agreed," commented Shizuka.

"Hey Shizuka-sama," started Misao, "Isn't Fujimora the school YOU used to go to before you transferred last year?" Looking up to the stoic girl, Shizuka only gave her a look void of emotion before…

:DING DING DING:

_Saved by the bell._ Thought Kyo, picking up his belongings and trudging off to his next class.

-o-o-o-

_One more minute! 59…58…57…56…55…54…53…52…51…50… AH! Who ever would've thought that a minute could be so dang LONG?_ were Kyo's thoughts as he impatiently counted down the seconds until he could leave detention. Since he couldn't get out of it, his plan was to sprint to kendo practice and pray that Katsura-sensei wouldn't be too angry with him.

Luckily though, he did get some satisfaction out of this detention. Even though Mrs. Fujita had only verbally scolded Kyo, she had also given Sano detention, leaving him to suffer as well. But since the teacher holding detention was Mrs. Fujita herself, they had been separated the minute they entered the classroom.

"Mr. Kamiya, Mr. Sagara, your twenty minutes are up. You are free to go," studiously announced Mrs. Fujita as a blur of a student whipped past her, out into the hall.

Dodging students sweeping the halls, Kyo dashed to the practice room, not bothering to slow down to Sano's calls of "Hey, wait up!" Skidding around corners and avoiding nasty glares Kyo slid to a stop at a particular door labeled 'Kendo Club.' Slamming the door open he didn't bother to look where he was going as he rushed in choking out, "Katsura-sensei, I'm sorry I--"

"Kamiya, watch out!" yelled a deep, commanding voice. Kyo turned slightly, but not enough to avoid a bokken coming straight at his head.

WHAM

Right before Kyo hit the ground and blackness consumed his vision, he remembered seeing a blaze of red in the corner of the room, a soft, surprised gasp of "Oro!" and thinking, _What kind of idiot would ever say…'Oro?'_

-V-V-V-V-V-

1. This is Saito's incarnated wife, under his alias name: Goro Fujita, not his true name, Hajime Saito.

2. This is a quote by _James McNeill Whistler._

3. This means something along the lines of, _What will be, will be_.

4. In Japan they only have three years of high school starting with tenth grade. From what I've heard they do not refer to students as 'Juniors, Sophomores, etc.' but rather by what year of high school they are in, 'First Years, Third Years, etc.'

_He, he he…I have been such a bad author. I haven't updated in QUITE a while…I feel really bad because I know your pain. After getting back from Japan (which was totally awesome by the way) I went totally brain dead (not literally) and had the worst writers block that you could imagine. But I forced myself to write bits and pieces of the story while on other vacations (Maui, East of State, etc.). I got a lot done on the airplanes, but not enough. But, I FINALLY was struck with inspiration at my friend darksaphire's house and was able to finish the chapter. Unfortunately, I think it will be a while before I can update again. My inspiration was very short-lived and I'm still working out some difficulties in the plot. I'm REALLY sorry, but I thank all of my faithful reviewers. Without you my story would never move at all. THANK YOU! And, as a token of my appreciation, I have written reviewer responses for all of you. I hope you enjoy them! Again, thank you all SO much and I'm sorry for the update delays. Until next time…_

_**GreenKnight-Warrior:** Thank you so much for the compliments! I'm glad you enjoy my work and that you think it sounds like the show. I try, but sometimes it just doesn't work out the way I want it to._

_**rurouni247:** You're just going to have to wait and see. hee hee. But don't worry about blabbing in your reviews, they're fun to read. And I also tend to blab in my reviews too, so no worries._

_**Nanakiyoda: **I'm glad that you think the perspectives are okay. I had a lot of fun writing the minds of little kids! I just hope that I did okay in this chapter too… :crosses fingers for luck:_

_**WOW!THIS-IS-A-REL:** Wow! Thanks for the compliments. My friend/editor EVLO actually helped me think of this, so I can't hog all the credit. And don't worry; I'll re-introduce many of the characters. If I didn't it just wouldn't be Rurouni Kenshin. Also, like I said to rurouni247, blab on all you like in your reviews. The more the better!_

_**nilnil:** I'm sorry that the story doesn't feel right. I try, but I guess the story can't appeal to everyone. But I still appreciate your review and thank you for accepting Kenshin being a girl. I feel special because you decided you accept it for my story! Hee hee._

_**Mini-MoonStar: **Sorry about the amber-eye thing. I couldn't resist. I wanted to put a bit of Battousai's personality into Kenna to show that she still had that part of her personality in her. But I'm happy that you think the characters are still themselves…in a sense. That's what I'm shooting for._

_**ken nuhfer: **You'll just have to wait and see…hee hee…_

_**Innocent Battousai: **It's nice to see someone so excited to read my chapters. Well, as you can see, not EVERYONE has switched genders. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't see Sano or Misao as a girl/boy. But the odd thing is I'm perfectly fine with making Aoshi a girl… My mind works in weird ways, that it does. And thank you for reviewing so diligently! Appreciate it!_

_**darksaphire:** Thank you for reviewing my chappie even though you're my co-editor! Love Ya Lots! Do I need to say more?_

_**Anime Angel: **Wow. Thank you very much for the great comments! I'm glad that you like Nimbus and Harmony, they were really fun to write. Don't worry, that won't be the last of the angels, I'm not finished with them yet. I hope that this chapter meets your standards._

_**kitsu watanabe: **I'm sorry that you dislike the name Kenna so much. I wanted to make it a name that you could easily relate to the name Kenshin. But I'm glad that you like the name Kyo (I like it too, and it's also really easy to type, hee hee). But thank you for reviewing anyway; I'm glad you still enjoy my story even though you hate the name Kenna._

_**inykensgirl:** I'm sorry I made you cry! But I'm pleased that you are looking forward to my story, I can only hope that others are too._

_**Kouseki Yume.: **Mucho Gracias! -_

_**Slow Motion Runner: **Glad to hear it! And we'll just have to wait and see about Imuno won't we…hmmm? By the way, I absolutely LOVE your name? It's SO AWESOME!_

_**TinyTERI:** Thank you for the correction, I appreciate any corrections I can get. They only make the story better. I hope this chappie makes you happy!_

_**scythe195:** Arigato-gozaimasu! -_

_**kyralovesrain: **I'm glad that you found it funny and touching. Since this is my first fanfic I wasn't sure if people thought that, but I guess they do! Yay! And I know that it seems impossible that Imuno could have killed Kenshin (because Kenshin is SO AWESOME) but nothing is impossible…_

_**sc gurl: **Glad that you think the plot is interesting! I hope that it is interesting, otherwise it wouldn't be much of a story. Sorry that you didn't like Imuno stabbing Kenshin's arm, but for the sake of the story, it had to be done. I'm glad that you could bear with it. Much appreciated!_

**_gabyhyatt:_ **_Merci! -_

_**Stormyrose:** Aye Aye Captain!_

_**Violet Orbs:** Don't worry, I will. -_


	6. Ouch

Disclaimer: Love-Lee Light Maiden does not own any characters from Rurouni Kenshin. All Rurouni Kenshin characters rightfully belong to their creator, Nobuhiro Watsuki.

**Second Chance Screw-up**

By: Love-Lee Light Maiden

Written by: Bunny

Edited by: Hoshiko Shinomori _(I love you so much! I'm so glad that you put up with me!)_

**Chapter 6: _Ouch_**

"…" indicates talking

…_italics_… indicates thoughts

blah blah blah indicates sounds

-o-o-o- indicates change in scenery

-VI-VI-VI-VI-VI-

I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.

_- Gilda Radner_

_Let the love be disgraceful, crazy, absent-minded. Someone sober will worry about events going badly. Let the lover be. _

_- Rumi_

-VI-VI-VI-VI-VI-

**From the last Chapter:**

_Dodging students sweeping the halls, Kyo dashed to the practice room, not bothering to slow down to Sano's calls of "Hey, wait up!" Skidding around corners and avoiding nasty glares Kyo slid to a stop at a particular door labeled 'Kendo Club.' Slamming the door open he didn't bother to look where he was going as he rushed in choking out, "Katsura-sensei, I'm sorry I--"_

"_Kamiya, watch out!" yelled a deep, commanding voice. Kyo turned slightly, but not enough to avoid a bokken coming straight at his head._

_WHAM_

_Right before Kyo hit the ground and blackness consumed his vision, he remembered seeing a blaze of red in the corner of the room, a soft, surprised gasp of "Oro!" and thinking, _What kind of idiot would ever say…'Oro?'

-VI-VI-VI-VI-VI-

_Mmmm…what…where am I? _groaned the piled heap of a boy, currently lying on the hardwood floor. Voices filtered in and out of his head, disorienting him and blurring his sense of place. The mixture of sounds pulsated in his mind, creating an immense throbbing and a…lump on his head?

_What the…how'd I…? _he thought while bringing a heavy arm up to finger the tender, swollen area, wincing and hissing at the sharp pain that shot through his skull. "Hssssss…"

"KYO! You're ALIIIIVE!" dramatically yelled a brusque voice, followed by two strong arms wrapping around him and shaking him violently. Kyo slightly opened his eyes to protest the movements and the continuous loud comments, only to find a clouded, swooshing room that didn't bode well with his increasingly growing migraine.

_Ugh, I think I'm gonna be sick…_

"SAGARA! Put that boy down! He's been through enough without you making things worse!" yelled a very contemptuous and saucy feminine voice, stopping Sanosuke's rampage. Kyo could hear the woman coming closer by the mind shattering clicking of her heels.

"Well SSSSSOOOORRRRY!" gruffly shot back Sano, obviously not taking a liking for the female. Kyo then felt a smooth, cooling hand on his forehead that helped calm his nerves. Seconds later it was removed to be heard swatting Sanosuke away. Slowly he was lowered back onto the floor, but not without a few grumbled complaints about shifty nurses under his best friend's breath.

A cold compress was applied to his swelled-up forehead and Kyo immediately felt better. He opened his eyes only to be greeted by a blinding light before he closed them again. Slowly this time, he blinked one eye open adjusting to the brightness of the room.

"It's a good thing that you came to so quickly," spoke the same feminine voice, but this time with a softer edge. "That means that your injuries are, most likely, not too serious this time," she stated looking down at him.

Returning the look, he gave the nurse a weary smile and said, "Hi, Nurse Takani." The lady in question smiled back down at him, her red-lipstick lips curving up in a mischievous grin and her brown eyes squinting slightly. She pulled back, her long black hair swaying with her movements.

"Okay Kyo," she began, grabbing a clipboard, "you've been in my office enough times for injuries, you know the drill." He grinned and nodded for her to continue. Immediately, Nurse Takani lifted her manicured hand to Kyo's head, left it there for a few lingering seconds then removed it.

"Okay, no fever. Check. Now, open your eyes wide." Obeying the nurse's order, Kyo widened his eyes while Ms. Takani looked into them, sometimes moving his eyelids out of the way. "No dilated pupils either, good. Now, one last thing before I'm done. Do you feel sick at all? Nauseated?"

"No. Just a headache," dully replied Kyo.

"Well then, all signs point out that you don't have a concussion," she told him while looking at her clipboard.

"Okay Kyo," said Nurse Takani finishing up her inspection, "other than a nasty lump on your head, you're as healthy as ever and will most likely live to see another day." Picking up her supplies and standing up she looked back down at him and flipped her hair over a shoulder. "But I would advise that you skip practice today so that your headache doesn't get any worse."

Kyo tried to protest, but one sharp glare from her made the unspoken argument die on his lips. "You also might want your rooster-head friend to help you home—just to be on the safe side. Although, I'm not sure how safe you can be with an idiot like him watching out for you." With a mischievous smile playing on her lips and a certain gleam in her eye, she cast a sidelong look at Sanosuke and turned to go talk with Katsura-sensei.

"Thanks Megumi—uh…I mean Nurse Takani," Kyo called to her retreating figure, only getting a wave of her hand as acknowledgment. Closing his eyes, Kyo reached up to rub his aching neck.

He had always liked Nurse Megumi Takani. She was the school's nurse, and was training to become a doctor. Around teachers and staff, she always seemed like the most organized, professional woman in the world, but to her patients she was a very open and sarcastic person. She had a knack for getting under your skin and irritating you with her sassy remarks and witty comebacks, but once you got to know her she was a very sincere and caring person. During one of his many visits to her office, she had mentioned that she had had a rough childhood, but never went further than that.

Thinking about Megumi's advice, Kyo lifted his head back up and revolved it around, scanning the room for Sano.

It didn't take him too long, for Sano, now seemingly unfazed by Kyo's mishap, was flirting vigorously with a…redhead? Rolling his eyes, Kyo decided to try and stand, if only to save the unfortunate girl from Sano's sad attempts at wooing her. Even if she WAS Fujimori's former captain, nobody deserved THAT kind of torture.

With wobbly legs, Kyo managed to stand and shakily walk to Sano's side. Once there, he had to try extremely hard to suppress his rising laughter. THIS was a truly hilarious sight! Sano was leaning his forearm on the wall in a completely over-confident and casual manner; while the girl was keeping her distance. She was obviously only smiling and staying near him, in general, for politeness sake.

_Ha ha, Sano will be disappointed when he realized that his 'oh-so-charming' smile doesn't work on everybody._

"So…" Sano started, coming in for the kill, "I'm kinda embarrassed to say this but…" he now looked into the girl's eyes, faking bashfulness, "I can't seem to remember my phone number, so…can I have yours instead?" Doing a complete 180-degree persona change, he turned back to his boastful demeanor and flashed her a wide grin.

Hearing this, Kyo absolutely lost all self-control and submitted to all-out laughter. Startled, Sanosuke jumped slightly and turned, surprised to see his best friend next to him, doubled over in hysteria. Hoping to get a better reaction from the girl, he returned to his laid-back stance and repositioned his face from shocked boy to that of a cocky teenager.

The sight that he was greeted with was a statue-still girl with abnormally wide violet eyes. She was blushing so furiously that her face was the same shade as her hair! Finally, after a minute, she seemed to come out of shock and blinked a couple of times before looking back up to him with nervous laughter and mumbling a soft 'oro?' This only accomplished renewing Sano's smile because he thought it was adorable. Flustered and not knowing what to do, the girl swallowed hard and tucked her hair behind her ears.

"Umm…I…uh…I mean…he he he…I'll have to get back to you on that, he he." Then sidestepping from Sano's immediate vicinity she bowed politely and hurriedly said, "uh…ItwasnicetomeetyouSanosuke, thatitwas, andIhopetoseeyouagainsoon, thatIdo. Goodbye."

Standing up swiftly, she immediately scurried over to the other side of the room and left out the door, where an older woman was waiting for her. Sanosuke's disappointment could clearly be seen in his crestfallen face. By now, Kyo's laughter had subsided and he punched Sano comfortingly.

"Ah, come on there buddy. You have the rest of the school year left to snag her. Don't let your hopes down." Seeing that Sano seemed a touch more like his usual self he decided to lead him outside and to start walking home. He was sure that Megumi had told Katsura-sensei that he was to go home, so he didn't bother announcing his departure.

Once they were about a block away from school Sano finally started talking again, his first words being: "Man…she was hot…"

"Is that ALL you can think about Sano?" questioned Kyo, thinking that with all the blows to the head he himself had gotten, Sano still had more mental issues. Or maybe it was more hormonal…?

"But did you SEE her?" he exclaimed, a goofy grin spreading over his features.

"Actually, I really didn't get a good look at her," replied Kyo, shrugging off his friend's one-track-mindedness.

"Ya! Probably because you were too busy wipin' your eyes from tears of laughter!" shot back Sano accusingly.

"But seriously Sano, that WAS pretty dang funny," smiled Kyo, recalling the incident. "Where do you come up with those things?"

Crossing his arms and straightening his shoulders, Sano tapped his temple and answered, "It's all in here man, all in here."

"Ha ha, that's probably why they're so stupid."

"WHAT! Why you…" retaliated Sano, lunging and grabbing his friend by the collar. In desperation, Kyo frantically looked around for a distraction to dissipate his friend's fury. It didn't take him too long to find the perfect target…

"Hey Sano, isn't that Yahiko on your front steps, with a…girl?" he slyly hinted to the simple-minded goon.

His anger evaporated, Sano's head jolted up and his iron grip loosened to observe his brother sweet talking a shy looking brunette. A wicked grin sliding into place, he let go of Kyo, placed his hands in his pockets and smoothly strode over to Yahiko, walking past the girl on the way.

"Bye Yahiko-kun. Thank you for helping me with math homework," sweetly called back the short-haired girl, giggling and waving to him from the sidewalk.

"Goodbye Tsubame," immediately shouted Yahiko, not missing a beat, before exhaling deeply. She passed him a last glance before turning the bend. Afterwards, Yahiko had a look about him that suggested he was currently on cloud nine.

His large brown eyes were glazed over as if he were somewhere else, and his spiky black hair (so much like his brother's, but shorter) was more ruffled than usual—a telltale sign of previous nervousness. His whole body relaxed so that it looked like the tiniest feather could brush him aside, and to top it all off, a lopsided grin told of his light mood.

Seeing Yahiko like this, Kyo almost felt sorry for sending Sano over to him…almost. The little runt was just like the younger annoying brother he never had. So, like an older brother, Kyo had to get his perks. He enjoyed tormenting the munchkin. Thus was why Kyo followed in Sano's footsteps, an evil look in his eyes, and stopped next to Yahiko at the end of the steps.

Smugness seeped out of every pore and fiber of Sanosuke's being. And when Yahiko failed to notice his older brother's presence, Sano decided to make himself known. Coughing loudly, Sano started his tirade.

"Hey Yahiko," he greeted with an upward bob of his head, snapping Yahiko out of his happy place. "So, uh, who was that sweet lookin' little missy I saw ya puttin' the moves on? I never knew you had a eye for brunettes."

"WHAT! You take that back IDIOT ROOSTER-HEAD!" shouted a fuming Yahiko. "I WASN'T putting any 'MOVES' on her. AND DON'T CALL TSUBAME A 'SWEET LOOKIN' LITTLE MISSY' AGAIN!"

"Looks like I've hit a nerve. You like the sweet lookin' little missy THAT much, huh?" taunted Sano. Riling up his brother never failed to amuse him. Especially since he got such great results…

Reaching his limit, Yahiko lost all patience and tackled his brother. Or at least he tried, seeing as how Sano didn't budge an inch. So instead, the smaller, tan skinned boy launched himself onto Sanosuke's back, placing his older brother's skull in a headlock.

Yahiko tried to gain the upper hand on his brother while slowly but surely, Sanosuke's face started turning a pale blue. When Sano couldn't hold his breath any longer, he reached behind him, grabbed Yahiko by the scruff of his school uniform and forcefully jerked the junior-high student off his neck, taking in a desperate breath of fresh air.

Holding Yahiko up to his eye level, Sanosuke gave a confidant grin and teasingly said to his seemingly helpless sibling, "What are ya gonna do now, Ya-hi-kooo?" Unfortunately for Sano, these were the wrong words to say, as Yahiko then immediately reached up to forcefully yank on a fist-full of Sano's bristly hair. "OW! That hurt you little punk!"

Thus, this is where things started to become fuzzy to Kyo. The two Sagara's became a blur of chaos, yelling at each other and wrestling with a tangle of limbs. Kyo just stood there for a moment, watching the amusing scene, enjoying how his annoying best friend and his even more annoying little brother tormented each other.

_Ha! Little do they know that they're just making my job easier,_ he thought with smug satisfaction.

But, after watching this for a time longer, it was starting to get old and Kyo decided to lend a helping hand in divine intervention. Walking over to the two growling family members, Kyo stopped in between them and held them a hairs width apart from each other—just far enough away for one not to be able to reach the other.

"Now now children, settle down," Kyo jokingly said in a 'motherly' voice. "Yahiko, you know it isn't fair to tease idiots."

"Hey! What kind of friend are you?" shouted an already irritated Sano.

Kyo completely ignored this and continued, "And Sano, you know it is not nice to pick on those smaller and less able than you are."

"Who are you calling 'LESS ABLE,' UGLY!"

WHAM! Immediately, Kyo's bokken was out and the look of murder was written upon his face. Then in a voice that would make evil stop in its tracks, he said, "Don't ever call me 'ugly,' Yahiko-CHAN."

"Oh yeah? Bring it on UGLY! I could beat you with my hand tied behind my--" Yahiko retorted, only to be painfully interrupted with another smack of the bokken. This time, Yahiko was down for the count.

"Whoo hoo!" hollered Sano in victory. "Now that's what I like to call putting him in his place," joked Sano, laughing at his own joke. Sighing, he looked up to Kyo from where he was sitting on the ground and smiled, "Thanks man, I owe you one."

"You owe me many more than one. Besides, he was getting on my nerves," came Kyo's explanation for beaming Sano's little brother.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Sano replied to Kyo's reasoning with a wave of his hand. "Now get outta here. Unlike me, you've got chores to do."

"Damn, it's that late already?" Looking down at his watch, Kyo's heart gave a jump as he realized how much time had actually passed.

"Like I said, go home and leave me alone, before your mom gets home and throws a hissy because you didn't get everything done."

"Fine. I can tell when I'm unwanted," teased Kyo as he flung his book bag over his shoulder and headed down the sidewalk. "See ya tomorrow Sano!"

"'Till then! And don't be late this time!" Sano joked back, a grin re-appearing on his features. Kyo just shook his head and rolled his eyes while he continued walking home. What would he do without Sano?

_A lot,_ he mentally answered himself. Gazing around at his surroundings, he saw that the once completely green trees now had scattered yellow leaves in their bunches of foliage.

Hearing the gentle chimes of laughter, Kyo looked away to see kids, no older than five, playing in a sandbox provided in the local park. He smiled, fond memories encompassing him. This was the place he always came to clear his head. Ironically, this was also the place where he'd met Sano, which was anything but mind clearing.

Unconsciously, he started fiddling with the ring suspended from the chain around his neck. It was an heirloom that his mother had given him after his father died. Supposedly, the symbolism of the intertwining gold and silver bands was meant to unite you with your true love. He didn't believe it though. Meeting whom you end up loving was just a big coincidence, pure and simple.

Moving his eyes from the cheerful children he noticed the smiling parents watching them from the benches. This quickly jolted him back into reality, and he sped up his pace, praying that he could get home and finish his chores before his mother arrived.

-o-o-o-

Putting the pan full of water onto the burner, Kyo switched the heat to high and took a deep sigh, waiting for the water to boil. He had just spent the last hour cleaning dishes, folding the laundry that his mom had put in the dryer before going to work, vacuuming, and trying to finish his homework; all right after the other. When he came upon a math problem that he couldn't for the life of him solve, he decided that it was time to cook dinner. Maybe he could finish it before his mom got home and surprise her. Thus, why he decided on ramen: fast, easy, and nobody could not like ramen!

"Honey, I'm home!"

_Great…_ "Hi, Mom!" he greeted back, watching his mother put her jacket away in the closet and walking over to him. She hugged him and gave him a peck on the cheek. Looking at the apron he was wearing and glancing over his shoulder, she physically tensed up as she spotted what was on the stove.

"Kyo…you aren't trying to cook are you?" she asked warily.

"Of course I am!" he happily replied. "You work day in and day out, then come home only to slave over a hot stove. Sooooo…I decided to cook dinner tonight," he finished with a flourish of hand movements and a glimmering smile.

"He he, that's wonderful honey," Sakura began as she mustered up the will to break it to her son gently. "Ummm…do you remember what happened last time you tried to cook?"

"Yeah, the food was a little burnt…why?" he answered, suspicion creeping into his voice.

"Kyo, the food was burnt, but you burnt half of the kitchen with it. The smoke alarms all went off and I had to call the front desk to turn them off and to stop the fire department from coming," she bluntly told him. She loved him inside and out but…he just wasn't made to cook…

"But MOM! It wasn't THAT bad…was it?" he looked over to his mom to see her nodding sadly in conformation. Sighing, he handed her the package of noodles, "Here, you cook then. Better you than me!"

"Thanks for trying to help Kyo, but I really don't mind cooking dinner."

"Okay…" mumbled a dejected Kyo as he walked back to his room to battle with his ever present math homework. Looking at the problem, he re-read it and sprang to work. Why did he think it was so hard last time? IT WAS SIMPLE! Finishing the equation, he let out a breath of happiness.

_DONE! Yes! Now I can relax until dinner,_ he thought joyfully. But right before he closed the textbook, the problem that he had just finished caught his eye and he stopped, frozen in place. At the end of the long problem, there was one word that he had missed: Explain.

_NOOOO! Why? Is the world out to get me today? Whyyyy…_

Thus, after ten minutes of gruesomely trying to figure out how to explain the problem, then actually writing the answer, he was blissfully aware when his mother called him in for dinner. Running into the kitchen, he sat down and waited for his mother to follow suit. Once she did, they both chorused an 'Itadakimasu.'(1) Then both split their chopsticks and dug in to a delicious meal of ramen, rice, and some deep fried fish.

Sakura and Kyo ate in content silence until Sakura decided to break the silence.

"You know that man at work I've been telling you about, Koji?" Stopping in mid-bite Kyo looked up from his half-bent position over his food.

"Yeah," he replied monotonlessly, while bringing his chopsticks full of ramen to his mouth.

"Well, he's been extremely nice to me over the years, and today, while we were doing paperwork, he asked if I wanted to go to dinner with him," she continued, looking at her son for some sign of approval.

Not showing any emotion in the least, Kyo just kept concentrating on his food as he asked, "And what did you say?"

"Yes, of course."

"Hn," a nod of his head and a loud slurping of his ramen was all of Kyo's response.

"Kyo…"

"Look, Mom, this is your decision, not mine. You know how I feel about--"

"What are you talking about? It's as much your decision as it is mine, Kyo!" Sakura put her chopsticks down on the table and stared at her son, concern written on her features. "Kyo, look at me!" she commanded sternly, and then in a softer key, "What's wrong?"

"You know what's wrong, Mom," quietly said Kyo, finally stopping the swirling of his food.

"Honey, nothing like that will ever happen again. I've learned from my mistakes…I--"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?" burst out Kyo accusingly, now standing up and looking his mother straight in the eyes. "You didn't know it was going to happen the first time! How can you possibly know THIS time?"

"KYO! Don't talk to me with that tone, young man!"

"But how could you know, MOM?" he retorted angrily. Sitting down, he rested his elbows on the table and leaned his head in his hands. His words sounding strained, he explained his frustration. "I don't want that to EVER happen again. When that…that…MONSTER hurt you. And I couldn't do ANYTHING! I felt so helpless…" Taking a deep breath, all of the anger seemed to drain away, only to be replaced by tired regret.

"I know, Honey…I know…You've always tried to protect others, especially me. That's why you're so diligent at training." Moving over to her son's side, she wrapped her arms around him and patted him on the back, trying to sooth some of the pain. Then, getting down on one knee, she tried to meet her son's lowered eyes. Shakily, she confessed, "I felt helpless too. More so because I couldn't help you…my baby." Again she hugged him, this time more for support than for tenderness. "I will make sure that never happens again."

"I'll make sure too, Mom." Letting out a deep breath, Kyo returned the hug.

The rest of the night was spent laughing about what the day had brought, trying to temporarily erase what had just conspired.

-VI-VI-VI-VI-VI-

A phrase that the Japanese say before eating. It means something along the lines of "good meal"…or something like that…

_Hello…I not exactly sure what to say…sorry? "Hello! I'm not dead!" Yeah…I don't know. Anyways, I know that it has been a VERY long time since I last updated. I have many excuses as to why I haven't updated, but I'm sure that you don't want to hear them, so I won't bother writing about them. But, if it makes you feel any better, I have a lot of the next chapter written. A pretty uneventful chapter though…Did you notice any similarities between girl Kaoru and Kyo? Can you guess who the redhead is? You'll all smart readers, so I'm sure that it is obvious (or at least I hope so). Well, even though it wasn't as 'thrilling' as the other chapters, I hope that you enjoyed this one nonetheless. Until next time…_

_**Darksaphire:** You know…I really don't know what the difference is…(sweatdrop) Oh well…_

_**Misao-chan122:** I believe I already have felt their wrath. I'm such a bad updater…_

_**Hoshiko Shinomori:** Hee hee. I'm glad that you like it nee-chan! Thank you so much for editing my chappy…again. (sigh) What would I do without you…not much I'm sure. lol. Anyways, if you liked the last chapter with Sano, I think you'll like this one too. Thanks again Hoshi! (big hugs)_

_**GreenKnight-Warrior:** Um…I hope that this isn't considered a cliffhanger…I'm glad that you enjoy my chapters though!_

_**Nanakiyoda:** I think your last review is one of the best reviews that I have gotten. Thank you so much. That means a lot to me. _

_**Sara-Chan 11:** Thank you!_

_**ELLIE 31773:** Sorry for not updating sooner…I feel really guilty. But, thank you for your comments. I'm glad that you find this story so appealing. _

_**Slowmotionrunner:** lol_

**Miharu Kawashi:** Thank you! You're right, Kenna and Kyo will know who they are facing off against. But, they are going to meet in a different way, as you kinda already saw in the chappy. Also, don't worry about rambling on or asking questions. They just make the reviews more interesting! I'll try to answer any and all questions you have about the story without giving away too much. I'm just not sure if I'll explain them very well…Oh well…


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